


Pick Me, Choose Me (Love Me)

by SqueegeeBecksXo



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Choices, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Gen, Leather Jackets, Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-17 12:41:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14189187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SqueegeeBecksXo/pseuds/SqueegeeBecksXo
Summary: Living a life of luxury is all Veronica has ever known, however the decision to leave it all behind had been the easiest one she’s ever made. The fallout from that though, would leave her straddling a thin line between right and wrong, good or bad, and the distinction between the two wasn’t always as clear as she thought it should be. Will she choose a path, a guy, who was already set in place for her, or for the first time ever will Veronica follow her heart directly into the arms of a man who would put her in direct opposition of the life and family she’s always loved?In a town where it’s them or us Sweet Pea has always stood us. That is, until a certain raven-haired girl walked into his life. Now he’s left standing on the razors edge caught between a decision he wants to make and a choice he knows he should make. Will he stick to the hard rules he’d set in place for his life many years ago when it was a matter of survival, or will he let his heart win, throwing caution to the wind and choosing a path that not only puts a target on his back, but might very well be his undoing.When faced the possible consequences of their choices, will this unlikely pair being able to ride it out, or will they crash and burn?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know about everyone else, but I have fallen in love with the crack ship created by elegantmoonchild that is SweetVee! There's something about their dynamic that just draws me in! 
> 
> I've had this story in my head for weeks now and I was finding hard to continue my WIP, Anything But Easy, because of it. I was struck with this need to find a way for Veronica and Sweet Pea to exist in a somewhat canon way, so that's what this is. My attempt at just that. 
> 
> I would say this might be canon divergent or maybe a canon continuance. Everything that happened on the show, affects this universe. The only difference is age and time. The show takes place over about 4 months and everyone is still only 16-17 and that just seems outrageous to me, so for the sake of everything making more sense, I've considered everything happening over the last year and half. The characters are all around 17 and they are all at the end of their senior year.
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoy this! I make no promises on updates since this is a mostly for fun fic, but as long as I have the story in my head, I will continue to write! 
> 
> Each chapter will be about 4,000 words, flipping between Veronica and Sweet Pea's perspective at each chapter. 
> 
> Please leave some comments below and tell me what you think! You can follow me on Tumblr at heyytherejuliett!

Veronica stared down at the white floral printed porcelain dinner plate shuffling around the bland meet and veggies that had remained mostly untouched. It had been a month since she moved into the Cooper residence but she was sure she would never get used to the somewhat boring homecooked meals her best friend Betty's mom, Alice, seemed to churn out every night. She thought back to her chef at the Pembrooke, the luxury apartments she lived in just a month ago, before she had given up everything, and silently missed his cooking. 

"Everything okay sweetie?" Alice asked, gesturing with her eyes toward Veronica's plate. 

"Yes of course Mrs. Cooper. Dinner is delicious." Not wanting to seem ungrateful, she silently held her breath as she took a large bite of the mostly cold mixed veggies from her plate. 

"You just seem distracted is all." Alice replied. 

"Well mom, Veronica does have a lot going on, with River Vixens and student council and now the Blue and Gold." Betty answered for her, giving Veronica a loving nudge in the side. 

"Yes, it's true, I may have overfilled my plate. Both literally and figuratively." 

It wasn't a lie. Ever since she made the snap decision to cut all ties from her family and the terrible things they were planning to do, she had tried everything she could to keep herself as busy as possible. She had won student council president a few weeks prior and was promoted to captain of the River Vixens not long after by Cheryl, who was now too busy with her new girlfriend to focus of routines and choreography. When Betty had asked her to join the Blue and Gold, their high school newspaper, to write a fashion column, it seemed like the only thing she could do to repay her friend for being so accommodating these last few weeks. 

"It's good to be busy. Keeps everyone out of trouble." Alice quipped, taking a sip of her wine. "Speaking of which. Tonight-" 

"Mom, don't start. It's just a party." Betty cut in, not letting Alice continue.

"I'm well aware it's just a party Elizabeth. A party for high school students at a bar on the southside." 

"You promised to stop bashing the southside. This party is actually a really good thing. It's bringing together the Southside High and the Riverdale High students for like, the first time." 

"Yes Mrs. Cooper, this is actually what we've been working toward since Southside High closed. A way for all students to find some, middle ground." Veronica explained, as she internally winced. 

Mentioning the closing of Southside High brought back feelings she had worked very hard to try and push down. The high school, which sat on the Southside of Riverdale, was now nothing but a pile of rubble and dust, a reminder of just how far she had once been immersed in the shady underbelly of her father's business. Veronica's father, Hiram Lodge, was responsible for the destruction of nearly half of the southside. He had bought up as much land as possible, getting it for a steal, all under the guise of making Riverdale a better, more prosperous place. Thinking about it now, she feel's retroactively stupid for believing her father when he swore everything he was doing was legitimate and for a good cause. 

"Be that as it may, I still expect you both home by midnight." Alice responded. 

"How about two am?" Betty countered. 

Alice sighed. "Be in this house at 1:30am Elizabeth or else." She paused. "That obviously goes for you t00 Veronica." 

"Of course Mrs. Cooper." Veronica replied. 

_____________

Two hours later Veronica was laid across Betty's twin bed, idly flipping through an old magazine, as Halsey's _Bad at Love_ played softly in the background. They still had another half hour or so before they would be heading to the party and Veronica would be lying if she said she wasn't excited. It was the first time in a long time they would all be able to just be teenagers. 

"How does this look V?" Betty asked, looking at Veronica through the full-length mirror she was checking her outfit in. She was wearing a pair of black faux leather skinny jeans paired with a baby pink low cut and form fitting tank top, her leather Southside Serpents jacket, hung loosely over her shoulders. 

"I think you look bad ass. However, your frayed denim skirt, with my black chunky pumps, would look killer." She responded, hardly looking up. Fashion was most definitely her forte and ever since Betty joined the Serpent, via her boyfriend Jughead, she was making more daring style choices and Veronica was eating it up. 

"Oh my god you are so right. What would I ever do without you V?" Betty cooed, ducking into her closet to change quickly. 

Veronica chuckled quietly, heading to the room once occupied by Betty's older sister, and then by her long-lost brother after her sister got pregnant and moved out, and now by her since Betty had discovered her brother was a drug addict with a shady past and Alice finally kicked him out, to grab the shoes she promised Betty. It was a sorted family drama and had Veronica not have dealt with her own unique set of familial issues, she might have felt the slightest bit of judgement toward the Coopers, but as they say, glass houses and all. 

When she returned with the boots, she stopped to take in her own outfit. She was wearing her favorite deep purple dress, with black stiletto's. It hugged her curves in all the right places and Veronica loved how it made her coffee colored skin almost pop. Usually, this was one of her favorite dress's. Like the pearls she wore around her neck, it had been gifted to her by her father. Now though, staring at herself in the mirror, she almost felt suffocated by the tight fabric. 

"What's wrong V?" Betty asked, coming up behind her, taking in the look Veronica was wearing on her face. 

"I don't think I want to wear this..." She paused, bringing her fingers up to her neck to run them along the pearls. "Or these." Without thinking about it too much, she quickly removed the delicate strand of pearls and placed them on Betty's vanity. She felt a weight lift off her chest. 

"I think you look gorgeous." Betty replied, wrapping her arms around Veronica. 

"Am I interrupting something?" The girls jumped apart at the sound of Betty's boyfriend Jughead making his presence known. 

"Nothing but a sweet best friend moment." Betty replied, pulling him into a loving kiss. 

Veronica turned away, wanting to give them a bit of privacy. She couldn't help the pang of jealousy that shot through her stomach. It wasn't jealousy over them really, more of what they had. In the last month she had felt her own relationship with her longtime boyfriend Archie slowly start to dissipate. When she had finally made the decision to leave her family and cut all ties, she wanted Archie to do the same, but he had gotten in just as deep, if not deeper, into the family business, and unlike Veronica, it wasn't something he regretted. What started out as him simply wanting to prove to her father that he was good enough for Veronica, turned into Archie being privy to details that even she herself had been left in the dark about. It was something that continuously put a strain on their relationship, even though he swore he respected her decision and could keep the two separated. 

"You two just about ready. I brought the truck because I didn't know if you were going to be riding with Archie or not Veronica." Jughead said, fidgeting with the crown shaped knit beanie he always wore. 

"Archie isn't coming tonight." Veronica replied flatly, not wanting to think about the fight that had occurred earlier in the week because of this party. 

Unlike Veronica, Archie wasn't nearly as keen on the idea of integration among the Southside High and Riverdale High students. Even before the closure of the high school, he had made his detest for all things southside known. This had resulted in an Outsiders like street brawl in the pouring rain between the Bulldogs, the football team at Riverdale High, and a handful of members from the Southside Serpents. They didn't take kindly to Archie waving a gun in their face and threatening them. Veronica still rolls her eyes at how ridiculous the whole thing was. 

"His loss, because we are going to do nothing but dance, drink, and have fun." Betty said as she shrugged on her Serpent jacket. 

"I will never not love the sight of you in that jacket." Jughead mused, his face looking very literally like the definition of heart eyes. 

"Alright time to go. The quicker we get there the quicker I will no longer be third wheel." Veronica said as she lead them out of the room. 

Outside the night was cooler then Veronica had expected, but still comfortable. She made her way carefully to Jughead's truck when she heard Archie calling her name from his front porch. He had lived next door from Betty nearly their whole lives and when she first moved in she thought the idea of her boyfriend being literally in the house next to her would be exciting. Instead, she seemed to see him even less, as he spent most of his time with her father. 

"Ronnie, what are you doing?" He said as he approached the group of them. 

"Going to Cheryl's party. What does it look like I'm doing?" She replied not trying to hide her annoyance with him. 

"I really don't think you should go Veronica. That isn't a good part of town and the people that will be there..." Archie started. 

"What about the people Arch?" Jughead cut him off, moving around the truck to stand in front of him. 

"They're criminals. Thugs." Archie replied without hesitation, saying each word slowly and with venom.

"That's rich coming from you Jr. Mafioso. Why are you even here anyway? Shouldn't you be off doing more of Hiram's evil bidding?" 

"I'm here to take Ronnie to the party." 

"You are?" Veronica asked, surprised. 

"Yes. If you insist on going then I'm going with you. To keep you safe." 

"You are being ridiculous Archie. Nothing is going to happen to Veronica. I'm going to be with her the whole time." Betty tried to explain. 

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" He asked, giving her leather jacket an icy glare. Betty looked almost appalled. 

"Alright that's enough. It's fine guys, I'll go with Archie." Veronica said finally, as Archie placed his arm around her shoulder and lead her to his truck. "Let's get this night over with." She said mostly under her breath. 

_____________

The Whyte Wyrm was a Serpent owned bar on the Southside of Riverdale. It wasn't the first time she had been to a party here, though the only other time had ended badly, but the building still seemed intimidating. As the four of them walked through the barn like front doors Veronica's senses were immediately assaulted with the stench of booze, sweat, and cigarette's. If she was being honest, this was the last place she would ever picture Cheryl Blossom throwing a party, however it was definitely a testament to how much her relationship with Toni Topaz, who was also a Serpent, had changed her. 

"Betty! Veronica! You guys made it!" Not even ten steps into the bar they were met with Cheryl in all her fiery red glory. 

"Of course, we made it!" Veronica replied, hugging her friend tight. In truth, it felt was overwhelmingly good to see Cheryl so happy and smiling. 

"Are we going to have a problem?" Cheryl asked, looking directly at Archie. 

"No, I promise he will be on his best behavior." Veronica replied while he simply clenched his jaw and looked away. 

Cheryl led them to a back table where a group of Serpents were sitting. The bar was pretty packed, filled not only with students from both Riverdale schools, but also with some from Greendale high. Even in a place like this Cheryl knew how to throw a party. 

"Jughead and Betty already know everyone, obviously, but Veronica, Archie..." Cheryl paused as if unsure. "This is Fangs, Jersey Boy, Toni's cousin Baby, and that tall drink over there is Sweet Pea." 

"Yea we've already met, isn't that right red?" Sweet Pea said, pushing himself off from the wall he was leaning against. Sweet Pea had been the Serpent Archie threatened with a gun, the same one that had shown up to his house the next night looking for a fight. He stood at least 6'4" all muscle, and she would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed how attractive he was. Even she was in a relationship, she was still human. 

"Oh yea, we've met. Like the way my fist met your face." Archie replied. Suddenly Sweet Pea was standing toe-to-toe with him, having managed to knock a whole table over as he approached. It seemed as though the whole bar went silent and for a moment Veronica was struck by the stark differences between them. Archie with his fire engine red hair and boy next store blue cotton Henley. Sweet Pea, with his wild raven locks, metal dog tags hanging from his neck, and his leather Serpent jacket, layered over a red flannel and black t-shirt, snug over his broad shoulders. The two were like night and day, good and bad, though she couldn't tell who which was.  

"Enough." Veronica yelled, squeezing her way between the two facing Sweet Pea. "We aren't here for this. We're here for Cheryl and Toni, and to just have a good time." She hadn't realized her hands were on Sweet Pea's chest, gently pushing him back. Catching his glare, she quickly removed them and turned toward Archie, keeping her head down to hide the flush from her cheeks. "Come on Archie, let's get a drink." 

A little over an hour had gone by and Veronica found herself in the middle of the makeshift dance floor, her hips swinging from side to side to the classic rock jam she didn't recognize, a plastic cup of cheap vodka in her hand mixed with cranberry juice. It was her third and she was finally starting to feel it's effect as her body warmed and her head started feeling light. She had reached that perfect light buzz that people always searched for, and with the music, and her best girlfriends around her, Cheryl and Toni included, she was on cloud nine. 

Since the run in with Sweet Pea she had been actively trying to avoid Archie, staying on the dance floor where she knew he wouldn't follow her, and following the girls each time one of them needed to go to the bathroom. So far it had been working. He was posted up at the bar, scrolling through his phone as he nursed a cold beer. She kept sneaking a peek in his direction every now and then, just to keep an eye on him. Not once had he turned around to watch her and if she was being honest, she didn't care. 

Their relationship this past month had been rocky at best and toxic at it's worse. He'd lied to her about seeing her father and whenever she tried to talk about it with him he'd call her dramatic or crazy. She'd found herself crying herself to sleep more nights then not. She knew she should end it, but the truth was she figured he would have done it already. They hadn't had sex since before she moved out of her parents' house, something she had done purposely, and it seemed like Archie either didn't notice or didn't care. 

When the song changed Betty grabbed Veronica's hand, leading her to the bar for a refill. As they were making their way through the throng of people, Veronica had gotten bumped into by an unknown leather clad man. Her drink went flying as she fell to the floor. He immediately went to help her up, offering his hand and apologizing profusely, but before Veronica could get a word in Archie was in the guy's face. 

"What the fuck is your problem dude? Don't you Southside scumbags have any kind of decency?" He spat, his face turning a shade lighter than his hair. 

"Archie calm down it was an accident!" Veronica yelled, pulling on his arm, but it was futile. Archie had probably been looking for a chance to unload on a Serpent all night, and now he had found. 

"No fuck that Veronica, this prick knew exactly what he was doing!" 

The Serpent whose name she didn't know looked like he was about to fire back when Jughead, Fangs, and Sweet Pea approached. 

"What's seems to be the problem here?" Jughead asked calmly. 

"It's nothing. He just accidently bumped into me and I fell. I'm also a little drunk though so it probably didn't help." Veronica tried explaining. 

"Don't make excuses for these asshole Veronica!" Archie spat, pushing her forcefully to the side. She stumbled a bit and fell into Betty. 

"Don't fucking push her like that Archie!" Betty yelled as she helped Veronica get her balance. 

"Stay the fuck out of it Betty. You might wear that stupid jacket but it doesn't mean shit. Your still just a Serpent slut!" 

Veronica felt a fire in her stomach that had been shouldering for weeks grow and burst into full blown flames. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Her voice was lethal and her eyes were locked with Archie's. Fighting with her was one thing, essentially picking her father side wasn't great, but down right insulting her best friend, the person Veronica loved the absolute most in this world was something she could not, and would not, tolerate. 

"Oh, come on Veronica. Why are you so insistent on being friends with these people? Look around. We are so much better than this?" Archie yelled. 

Suddenly the music cut off and if Veronica wasn't so angry she probably would have cared a bit more about the thirty or so people that had gathered around them, all straining to get a good look at the drama unfolding. 

"I can't believe I ever told you I love you. I take it back Archie. I take it all back. Every word. You are so not the man I thought you were and affective immediately there is no more 'We'." She said with venom. 

"Are you breaking up with me?" Archie asked, clearly offended. 

"You really are as dumb as they say. Yes Archie Andrews, this is me breaking up with you. Consider yourself dumped." Veronica spat as she grabbed the drink from Toni's hand and through it in his face. The action felt invigorating and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her throat. 

Archie hesitated for a moment, then made a move toward her, but was stopped by Sweet Pea with a large hand on his chest. 

"What are exactly are you going to do?" Sweet Pea asked with an icy tone. 

Archie looked at him, then at Veronica, and then everyone else around him. It took approximately two minutes for him to realize he was completely out numbed before he turned and stomped his way toward the exit. 

Veronica watched as the remaining strand tying her to her father and everything involved in a life she no longer wanted walked out the door, severing itself from her permantely. What seemed like it should have felt like a punch to the gut, was more akin to weight lifting from her chest, making it easier to breath and move. 

Somewhere in the background the music began playing again, a pop song with an easy beat, and before Veronica could think she threw her hands in the air and began dancing again. Swaying her hips and flinging her hair, lost in the music. All around her everyone else did the same and just like that she was free. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sweet Pea stood leaning against the bar, nursing a warm beer. He hadn't wanted to come to this party, hadn't wanted anything to do with socializing with the Northside assholes that had never made any effort until free booze and shitty music was involved. He watched as bodies from both sides gyrated against each other, drunk, and high on whatever party drug had been passed around tonight. It was nearing midnight and he was counting down the minutes until he could leave. 

His appearance here had been mandatory, FP, the Serpent king and Jughead's father stating it was a good show of faith, a way to encourage community among the Northsider's and the Southsider's. If the kids could somehow manage to get along then maybe there was hope for the rest of the town. Sweet Pea thought it was all bullshit and couldn't care less what the Northsider's wanted. Well, all except for one Northsider. 

Veronica Lodge had been public enemy number one up until a month ago when she had decided to leave her life of luxury and privilege behind and cut all ties with her family. It had been rumored that she wasn't as okay with her daddy's shady dealings as she had pretended to be and when his real plans for the Southside came to lite, to completely buy up all the land, effectively kicking out every resident with no real plans to offer alternate housing, she had had enough. Even Sweet Pea had to admit it was brave. He knew the kind of reputation her father had, the type of men he kept in his circles. He didn't need to watch every episode of the Soprano's to know that turning your back on your family was the ultimate sin. 

It had only been a few hours since she dumped Archie Andrews right here in this very bar in front of everyone but already he could tell she was feeling freer than ever. He had watched as her and Betty, and then her and Toni after Betty gave in, threw back shot after shot. He was a big guy, 6'4" 270lbs, and even he didn't think he'd still be standing up right had he consumed that much alcohol, but there she was, in the middle of the dance floor shaking her ass in time with the beat. It was a sight to see and he found himself struggling to look away. 

"Is she okay Betty?" Jughead asked. He and Betty had been seated at the bar next to him looking out onto the dance floor. 

"Actually, I think she's better then okay. I haven't seen her having this much fun in... well ever." Betty laughed. It was clear in the way she slurred her words that she was pretty drunk. Jughead had insisted on her drinking nothing but water for the last half hour. 

"You're drunk. And clearly so is she. You're driving them home right Jones?" Sweet Pea asked Jughead. 

"Obviously Sweet Pea, though I'm sure wrangling them both into the truck and then into the house without waking Alice will be an adventure in itself." Jughead replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

"You just leave Alive to me kid. You and Pea make sure to get the girls home and into their perspective beds." FP said, having heard the conversation. 

"Mr. Jones I love you but please, I do not want to hear anything about you and my mother. It's too weird." Betty replied, holding a hand up in his direction. 

FP laughed, a dirty smirk on his face. It was no secret that he and Alice had history, just as much as it was no secret that for the last two months they'd be hot and heavy again, ever since her divorce from Betty's father had been finalized. Sweet Pea made sure to rib Jughead about dating his step sister every chance he got. 

"I'm heading out now. Make sure they get home by whatever time Alice wanted them home." FP said. 

"That would be 1:30am on the dot, so I have approximately an hour and half to dance and drink!" Betty said, grabbing a bottle of vodka from behind the bar and taking off toward Veronica on the dance floor. Jughead sighed heavily and FP shook his head as he made his way out the door. 

An hour later both girls were trashed. 

"A little help here Sweet Pea." Toni said, as she and Cheryl basically carried Veronica over to the bar. 

He sighed in frustration. Babysitting a drunk northsider was not something he wanted to be doing, even if she was as gorgeous and sexy as Veronica Lodge. Without hesitation he hoisted her up into his arms, cradling her like a small child. 

"Oh my, what strong arms you have. My knight in shining leather!" Veronica said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Everyone around them laughed. 

"Come on Betty, it's time to go." Jughead said as he pulled Betty into his side. She was still capable of the basic function of walking, albeit not well. 

"But we still have a half hour!" She slurred. Her eyes were closed, her head resting on Jughead's shoulder as he started leading her to the door. 

"By the time we get you two in the truck and back to the Northside it'll be 1:30." Sweet Pea said, following the two out the door. 

"Party pooper." Veronica slurred in his arms. 

"You be quiet. If you can't walk, you're not allowed to talk." He responded. 

"Be nice Pea. We were just having fun." Betty scolded as Jughead basically shoved her into the back seat of FP's truck. 

"Here, put Veronica in beside her. I know you won't fit back there and they can just lay on each other I guess." Jughead directed. 

As Sweet Pea placed Veronica in the back seat, he became all too aware that the already short dress she had been wearing, had ridden up, revealing a large expanse of skin on her upper thigh. It looked smooth and toned and it took all of his will power not to reach out and run his hand across it. Shaking his head, he quickly looked away. 

"Sorry." Veronica said, doing her best to pull her dress down. 

"It's fine. Here." He shrugged out of his leather jacket and placed it over her legs. She gave him a bright smile and then leaned her head on Betty's shoulder. 

The ride to Betty's house was short and pretty painless. Both girls had fallen asleep in the back and he and Jughead rode in comfortable silence. Jughead checked his phone as they got out of the car. 

"Well we don't have to worry about being quiet. Alice isn't here." He said shaking his head. Sweet Pea laughed. "Don't even start Pea. She's not my step sister. They aren't married and I swear on all that is holy-" 

"Calm down Jones. I get it." He replied rolling his eyes. 

They had gotten the girls out of the truck and up on the porch when Betty announced she was going to throw up. She managed to just make it over the railing, Jughead holding her hair back. 

"Light weight!" Veronica teased from her position in Sweet Pea's arms. He hadn't even given her the option to try walking. 

"Fuck off V!" Betty managed between dry heaving, a light laugh in her tone. 

Both boys laughed. For two northsider's they sure did know how to party and fuck things up. 

"Take Veronica upstairs, I've got this." Jughead said. 

Sweet Pea had only been in Betty's house once before, when him, Jughead, and a bunch of other Serpents had busted down the door to save Betty and her mom from a small hostage situation. It was then that Sweet Pea had really developed a true respect for Betty. 

The house was the perfect definition of suburban. All white walls, pristine furniture, and expensive but boring décor. The walls were lined with portraits of the perfect nuclear family and he could have sworn he smelled freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It was a picture of perfection, though Sweet Pea knew it wasn't all it seemed to be. 

He carried Veronica up the short flight of stairs and into the bedroom she directed him toward. It was oppressively pink, nothing at all like he pictured for Veronica, though he was sure it was more indicative of its former occupant, Betty's older sister. 

He placed Veronica on the bed, expecting her to just lay down, but instead she sat up. 

"Can you hand me those silk pajama's hanging from the chair please?" She asked softly, pointing toward the chair, her eyes barely open.

"Um, yea sure." He quickly grabbed the clothing and handed them to her. 

Veronica turned around so her back was toward him. "Can you please unzip my dress?" 

Sweet Pea swallowed involuntarily and clenched his jaw. "Sure." He said quickly as he swiftly unzipped the expensive looking dress. 

"Thank you." She replied as began trying to pull it down. "Do you like what you see?" 

Sweet Pea hadn't realized he had been watching her, his jaw tight and his eyes hooded. In truth, he did like what he saw. Veronica was undeniably sexy. He knew that from the first time he saw her, the night he went to Andrews. But it was more than that. She wasn't classically beautiful in the way that Betty was, all green eyes and blonde hair. No Veronica was on a whole different level. Her dark eyes and raven hair, mixed with her coffee tan skin was a sight to behold. As he stood there, watching her with her dress around her waist, a black lacy bra covering her breasts, he decided he did very much like what he saw. 

"You're drunk." Was all he replied with, mostly because it was true, but also because in the state that she was in, it wouldn't be right to say what he was really thinking. 

"And you're hot. What's your point?" Veronica said coyly, stumbling a bit as she tried to stand and remove her dress fully. She fell back down the bed, the dress getting tangled in her heels. 

Sweet Pea sighed, deciding he couldn't just stand there and let the poor girl struggle. "Here, let me help." He kneeled down and gently removed her strappy heels, one foot at a time, before sliding her now bunched-up dress the rest of the way down her legs, doing his best not to actually touch her skin. He knew if he did he would be a goner. 

"Thank you." Veronica said in almost whisper, before pulling back the covers and sliding in. "I think I'll forgo the pajama's for tonight." 

Sweet Pea clenched his jaw tight. "Well, okay." 

He stood up and placed her dress and the pajama's she had decided not to wear over the back of her vanity chair. When he turned around to say goodbye Veronica was already sound asleep, her soft raven hair strewn across her face. 

He sighed, taking a moment to just look at her before he turned off her bedside lamp. She really was the most gorgeous girl he'd ever seen, but it didn’t really matter. As cool and brave as Veronica seemed, she was still a Lodge and still a northsider. His fellow Serpents might not have any issue with dating from the other side, Jughead with Betty, Toni with Cheryl, and now Fangs with Keven, who was the sheriff's son, but Sweet Pea had rules, and for him this one was never to be broken. 

As he quietly stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him, he was met with Jughead doing the same. 

"Betty's passed out already." Jughead laughed, heading down the steps. 

"Same with Veronica." He replied, following closely behind. 

"They are going to have one wicked hangover tomorrow. Maybe I'll pick them up early and treat them to pops." Jughead mused. 

"Let me know if you do, I'll join." 

Sure, he would never date Veronica, but breakfast with a beautiful girl wasn't completely out of the question. At least that's what he told himself. 

___________

By the time Sweet Pea had gotten home and into bed last night, it was nearly 4am. He had gone back to the Wyrm to get his bike and had gotten roped into helping clean up by Cheryl. Ever since her and Toni had become official she was always around, bossing the Serpents around like she owned the place. It seemed not even FP was able to reign her in. 

The sun was shining through his broken blinds in his small trailer. In truth he probably needed about another 5 hours of sleep before he should even be allowed around people but Jughead had texted him 20 minutes earlier letting him know he was on his way to pick up the girls for breakfast and if he wanted to join to just meet them at Pop's by 9. 

It was 8am now and for a split second he considered not responding and going back to sleep but then an image of Veronica, her black hair flying around as a genuine smile was stretched across her face, her body moving to the beat of some crappy pop song entered his mind and he was replying without even realizing it. 

**SP: Yea I'll be there.**

Standing under the steady stream of hot water in the shower Sweet Pea tried his best to clear his thoughts of all things Veronica. Though it may not seem it, he lived his life by a strict code of conduct. He laid out certain rules for himself, ones that kept him alive and thriving, and he didn’t' dare break them. These rules ensured him a place to live, food to eat, and the prying eyes of the adults capable of messing everything up looking the other way. 

He had been living on his own since he was 15 and now, not even 3 weeks away from turning 18, he was finally starting to feel like he was floating above the water a bit, instead of drowning in it. He had joined the Serpents as a means to an end, but instead found a family and a community of people willing to help him and stick out their necks for him. When FP had found out his uncle had kicked him out to make room for his trashy girlfriend and her three kids, he promptly offered him the small studio apartment above the White Wyrm and a started throwing more and more jobs his way so he could save up money. It's what allowed him to buy the small trailer he had been living in now for about a year. It wasn't much, one bedroom, used couch, thrift store dishes and utensils, but it was his and no one could take that away. 

The idea of him letting some fiery northsider come into his life and ruin all that, when she had already ruined so much by just having the last name that she did, was something he would not let happen. Even as he laced up his combat boots and checked himself in the mirror for the fourth time he kept telling himself it's just breakfast and it's not going to go any further, ever. 

___________

As he made his way through the door at Pop's, the bell chimed loudly above. Jughead, Betty, and Veronica were already seated at a booth, and after waving to Pop his made his way over. 

"Good morning ladies!" He greeted them, more loudly then necessary, noticing they were both wearing dark sunglasses. He took the only empty seat, next to Veronica, and tried not to notice how good she smelled. Like honey and spice, he thought. 

"Please stop yelling!" Betty pleaded, rubbing her fingers on her temples. Jughead pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. 

Sweet Pea felt a small pang of jealousy flow through him. He had watched, from a distance, as Jughead and Betty's relationship went through ups and downs. The breakup caused by the black hood led Jughead into the arms of Toni, which was a mistake he saw coming from a mile away. Then after Betty took it upon herself to do the Serpent dance, affectively joining the gang, Jughead pushed her away under some false sense of duty to keep her safe. Through it all Sweet Pea always knew they would find their way back to each other, and when they did it was like everything in the universe around them just clicked into place. They had a special kind of connection, and though he didn't necessarily believe in soul mates, he guessed if he had to put a label on the type of love they shared, that would be it. 

Pop approached the table, taking Sweet Pea out of his thoughts, to take everyone's order. 

Veronica was the first to speak. "I will have your largest stack of blueberry pancakes, a side of home fries, a side of bacon, and an extra dark chocolate milkshake." The entire table looked at her like she had three head. "What?" 

"Are you trying to give Jughead a run for his money? I don't think someone as small as you can put back all that food." Sweet Pea replied. 

"First of all, looks can be deceiving. Second, this isn't my first hangover, not even my worst. The best cure is a total carb load." She explained, passing her unused menu up to pop. 

Sweet Pea just simply snorted and shook his head. It seemed like every time she opened her mouth she was surprising him him. 

After everyone else gave their orders the table fell into comfortable small talk until Jughead decided to bring up Archie. 

"So, I know it might be too early to mention, but have you talked to Archie yet V?" He asked hesitantly, taking a sip of his coffee. 

"Nope. I don't think I will either." She replied, removing her sunglasses and rubbing her make up free eyes. He hadn't known Veronica very long, and to be honest he didn't know her very well either, but this seemed to be the most casual and laid back he'd ever seen her. She was wearing a pair of tight yoga pants and a river vixens hoodie, her hair pulled back in a messy bun, and her face makeup free. Maybe it was the hangover, or maybe it was something else, but she looked almost at ease. 

"You don't think you're going to want some closure?" Betty asked. 

"Closure for what B? This last month has been a complete shit show with him. Between his hot and cold moods, lying about his involvement with my dad, the total and complete lack of sex or intimacy." Sweet Pea chocked on the sip of coffee he had been taking, earning him a weird look from everyone. "The way he spoke to you, my best friend, my person, it's inexcusable. There's no closure needed." 

"Well then we support you 100% V." Jughead declared. 

Pop returned with their food then and everyone fell into a comfortable silence as they all ate. 

"Okay I'm sorry, did you say that you and Archie haven't been having sex?" Betty blurted out suddenly. This time Sweet Pea chocked on a piece of bacon. 

"Yes, I did." Veronica answered simply. 

"Since when? How long?" Betty asked. 

Sweet Pea and Jughead exchanged pained looks, like they both felt this was probably a girls only conversation. 

"Betty I'm sure Veronica doesn't want to discuss her sex life, or lack thereof, in front of Sweet Pea and I." Jughead spoke up. 

"We haven't had sex since before I left the Pembrook. Not even oral." Veronica said flatly. 

For the third time since he sat down Sweet Pea choked on his food. This time though, he struggled to regain his composure. 

"Shit, you okay Pea?" Veronica asked, patting his back lightly, which was not really helping. 

"Yea yea I'm fine, sorry." The use of the nickname made his head spin, along with the knowledge that Veronica and Archie hadn't done anything sexual in over a month. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable talking about sex, in fact it was probably quite the opposite. He was well versed and experienced in that area, having hit puberty before nearly all his friends and promptly shooting up 4inches that same summer. The girls had started noticing him and he had reveled in all the attention, eating it up. 

No, it was more how open and upfront Veronica seemed to be about the topic. Most girls he knew, even the most sexually active ones, all seemed way too shy to openly talk about the topic of sex. This was yet another thing he was finding incredibly sexy and intriguing about Veronica. 

"I know I'm going to regret this, but um, why?" Jughead asked, his cheeks burning red hot. Betty seemed to take notice, smiling at him with hearts in her eyes. 

Veronica shrugged as she reached over and stole a small piece of bacon form Sweet Pea's plate, promptly plopping it in her mouth. He didn't have time to comment before she began before she spoke. 

"To be honest, I think the moment Archie stopped being on my side, I stopped being attracted to him." She explained. 

"You mean in love with him?" Betty questioned. 

"No, no sweetie. Well, I mean yes, I definitely fell out of love for him a while back, but love and sex are two totally different things." She explained, her eyes flitting between Jughead and Betty, a small smile playing on her face. "Though considering you found your soul mate at 16 I'm not sure you will ever experience the pure unadulterated joy of unattached sex." This time it was Betty and Jughead's turn to choke on their food. 

Sweet Pea laugh, earning him a look form Veronica. "I'm assuming you know what I'm talking about?" She asked, looking up at him through thick lashes, a small smirk on her face. 

"Oh, I definitely do." He responded teasingly, looking down at her through hooded eyes briefly before turning to look at Jughead and Betty, who were both as red as tomatoes. 

"Yup, I regret asking." Jughead said rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I think that's enough sex talk for this early in the morning." 

Just then Sweet Pea's phone rang, the caller ID showing it was Toni. 

"Hey Tone, what's up?" He asked, using his fork to steal a large bite of home fries from Veronica's plate. Payback for the bacon she stole moments before. 

"Nothing really. Cheryl and I were thinking of heading down to Sweetwater River. It's like blazingly hot already. Wanted to see if you wanted to join, Fangs and Kevin are coming with too." She asked. 

"Sounds good." He replied. 

"Awesome. I'm gonna call Jughead and-" 

"I'm actually sitting across from him and Betty now. I met them and Veronica for breakfast." They all gave him a questioning look. 

"Really? Well that's perfect then. Let them know about it. We're heading down around noon. See you then Sweets." 

"No problem." He said, and then hung up. 

"Who was that?" Jughead questioned. 

"Toni. She called to invite all of us down to Sweetwater River. Apparently, her and Cheryl and Fangs and Kevin are going." He explained. 

Just then Betty's phone dinged and she reached into her bag to retrieve it. "Yea Kevin just texted me about it. We should go Jug." Betty said looking up at Jughead. 

"Are you going?" His attention was suddenly shifted when Veronica placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"Yea probably." 

"Good. Then so am I." She chirped. 

"Kevin said they are going there around noon. We should head home V so we can change and get ready and everything." Betty said. 

A few minutes later they were all outside of Pop's, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica heading toward FP's truck, and Sweet Pea heading toward his bike. Toni had been right, it was already unbearably hot even though it was still early May and early in the day. A day spent at Sweetwater River was perfect for weather like this and the prospect of seeing Veronica in a bathing suit made the idea even sweeter. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey V, are you wearing a bikini or a one piece?" Betty yelled into the hall way. 

"A bikini. Why?" Veronica yelled back. She was standing in her room packing all the necessary items for a day at the beach into her oversized Burberry beach bag, though it wasn't a beach they were going to, instead a river she had only been to once. 

"No reason." Betty responded back. 

Veronica dipped off into her bathroom to quickly change into her black bikini. It was simple yet sexy, showing off just enough skin and hugging her curves in all the right places. Her mind drifted to a certain tall dark-haired Serpent as she idly wondered what he would think about said bikini. 

"Are you wearing a beach hat? What about a cover up?" Betty yelled into the hallway.

Veronica shook her head, trying to rid all thoughts of Sweet Pea and what his shoulders look like without the usual black leather draped over them, as she walked from her room and into Betty's.

"I'm not sure yet, why what's-" Veronica stopped mid-sentence to take in the state of Betty's usually pristine bedroom. "Um, B. What the hell happened here?" 

Betty turned suddenly, her hair a bit disheveled. She was wearing a bright pink bikini top with matching bottoms. There were piles of clothing thrown all around her. "I've never been in a bathing suit in front of Jughead, let alone a bunch of other people, before." Her cheeks flushed the same color as her bikini. 

"Um Betty, need I remind you that you stood up at the Wyrm, half naked, and danced on a pole in front like, 100 people. And as for Jughead, I mean, he's seen you naked for Christ's sake. At least I'm assuming since you guys have been having sex for weeks now." Veronica said, lowering her voice to a whisper at the last part, not knowing how much Betty's mom knows. 

"I know I know but the Serpent dance, that was different. And I mean technically I was way more covered then I am in this." She explained. 

"Okay true, but... Listen, first of all, you are a smoke show. Your body is seriously rocking, so please don’t worry about that. Cheryl and Toni, they don't take their eyes off each other long enough to even notice other people exists in this world. Fangs and Kev are gay, and you could be wearing a paper bag and Jughead would still fall to his knees drooling over you." Veronica explained, placing her hands on Betty's shoulders. 

"Okay okay you make a point. Plus, I'm pretty sure Sweet Pea won't be looking anywhere other than in your direction." Betty said with a small knowing look. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Veronica asked, thankful that her tan skin always seems to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks right now pretty well. 

"Oh, please Veronica. You can't tell me you haven't noticed the way he looks at you and flirts with you. And don't think I haven't noticed you checking him out." Betty said wagging her finger in Veronica's direction. 

"I have no such idea what you are talking about." Veronica said coolly before turning on her heel, making her way back to her room and completely ignoring the snort that came from Betty behind her. 

_________

An hour later Veronica and Betty climbed into FP's truck. It was a far cry from the fancy limo's Veronica had grown up with, but it was reliable and filled with her favorite people so she never minded. The last month of her life had been so completely different than anything she had ever experience, and not just in the big ways either. For the first time in her life she had to wash her own clothes and be responsible for keeping her bedroom clean. On top of that she had actual chores Betty's mom required from both of the girls. She had never realized how much time and effort it took to keep a household running. All her life there had always been a maid, or a cook, or even her mom there doing all of that. 

At first it had been somewhat of a nuisance. Veronica had completely flooded the entire laundry room with soapy water the first time she tried to do laundry, effectively ruining nearly half her wardrobe. By the middle of the second week her hands were dry and cracked from doing dishes every night. Being there was no man in the house, taking the trash out was left up to Betty and Veronica, a job they switched off and on with. One night, Veronica had been taking the overfilled back out to the curb when it completely busted open, spilling something vile all over her and the drive way. It took her two hours and four showers to completely rid herself of the smell. 

Now though, she was almost grateful for the small activities, finding something almost calming about folding laundry, washing dishes, and even vacuuming. She felt an odd sense of pride she had never known before when she was done cleaning her room. She figured this was part of learning to live in the real world, without a whole slew of employees at her beck and call all the time. While the food was still something she'd never get used to, everything else was almost enjoyable. 

As they pulled into the parking lot that looked out onto the beach like land next to the river, Veronica was struck with a sense of awe. The way the sun glistened off the small waves in the water was like nothing she had ever seen here in Riverdale, or ever for that matter. The sand was surprisingly white and clean and even the water didn't look nearly as murky as she expected, though she still had absolutely no plans on going in. 

They made their way down to where the rest of the group was. They had been a bit late, after having to sit through a fifteen-minute inquisition from Alice about who would be there and whether or not there would be alcohol, something she felt was probably more for show then anything considering just the night before the girls had been permitted to go to a party at a bar. Everyone was already set up, seated on their perspective beach chairs, or laying out on a giant beach towel. 

"Here, let me help you carry that." Sweet Pea's deep voice came from behind her, causing her to jump a bit. He was wearing nothing but black swim trunks that hung low on his hips and his signature dog's tags, his toned tanned muscles glistening in the sun making him look like some sexy Hawaiian beach god. She had to swallow to soothe her now bone-dry throat. 

"Thank you." Was all she managed to say. 

As they made their way over the gang everyone looked up and greeted them. 

"Excuse me Veronica, where do you get off looking so damn hot after all the alcohol you made me consume last night. I know you're single now but leave some sexy for the rest of us." Toni said, looking over the rim of her sunglasses from where she sat under a big umbrella. She was wearing a black mesh one piece that had small bits of thick black fabric that barely covered her private bits. 

"You're one to talk, looking like a snack over there." Veronica replied, setting her beach chair down next to Betty's. 

"Keep it in your pants Lodge. I know you've dabbled in the ways of lady love via Nancy Drew over there, but this one is off limits." Cheryl scolded. She was seated next to Toni, wearing a bright red bikini, her pale skin looking painfully white in the sun. 

"What?!" Sweet Pea, Kevin, and Fangs all said at the same time. 

"It was just a kiss guys." Jughead explained, before turning to look at Veronica with furrowed brows. "That's all it was right? Just a kiss?" 

Veronica smirked and tilted her head. "I'll never tell." She sung out like Brittany Murphy in the move _Don't Say a Word_. 

Both Jughead's and Sweet Pea's jaws nearly hit the ground. 

"She's teasing you Jug. Yes, it was just a kiss. Albeit a super sexy kiss." Betty explained, winking in Veronica's direction. 

Veronica blew her a kiss in return before sitting down in her chair. Jughead sighed audibly before taking a seat on the opposite side of Betty while Sweet Pea just shook his head and resumed his spot on the large beach towel slightly in front of Veronica. 

For the next half hour Veronica tried in vain to concentrate on the magazine she had brought to read. She was reading through a paragraph about celebrity couples for the third time when she sighed and put it away. Sweet Pea, Jughead, Fangs, and Kevin had been throwing a football back and forth to each other and between watching the sweat drip off Sweet Pea's chest and cracking up every time Jughead fell trying to catch the football reading was a lost cause. 

It was an ungodly hot day. Even just sitting there in her beach chair Veronica was sweating. It didn't help that she had basically a front row view of Sweet Pea's abs, as they flexed every time he threw the football. His was muscular, for sure, but it wasn't in an overly bulky way like Reggie, or even Archie when he was working out overtime during football season. No Sweet Pea's body was long and lean and cut, it the best ways, something that seemed all natural. 

As she watched him catch the ball easily she was startled when he turned to look at her, nodding his head and giving her a smirk, indicating he knew she was looking at him even though she was wearing dark sunglasses. She choked on air and fidgeted in her seat, feeling her whole body heat up under his gaze. 

"You know if you ask nicely he might pose for a picture." Toni said, breaking Veronica's concentration. 

"Pardon me?" Veronica questioned. 

"Sweet Pea." Toni said, nodding her head in his direction. "You aren't the first girl I've watched nearly drool over him. Though I am slightly surprised he's managed to get under your skin so easily." She laughed.

"He's not, I'm not drooling." She said, subconsciously wiping her mouth, as if she had indeed actually been drooling. 

Toni and Betty both laughed. "What's so funny?" Cheryl asked. 

"Nothing beautiful." Toni replied, kissing her girlfriend long and hard. Veronica was thankful, knowing if Cheryl had any clue of what was being discussed she'd never let her live it down. 

Just then the boys approached, all sweaty. Sweet Pea stood in front of her, taking a long drink from his water bottle. 

"You're blocking my light." She said. 

He simply smiled and moved. 

"Come on V, I'm dying over here. Let's go in the water." Betty said. 

Had Betty asked when they first got there, she would have promptly turned her down. The idea of stepping foot in a river nearly making her skin crawl. But now as she sat there, burning up not only from the afternoon sun, a dip in the cool water sounded absolutely amazing. 

"Sounds perfect. You guys coming?" She said getting up from her chair, directing her question at Toni and Cheryl. They were both seated under a giant umbrella, shielded from the sun. 

"No thanks." Toni replied and Cheryl simply smiled. 

The rest of the gang, Sweet Pea included, headed out toward the water. Fangs and Kevin rushed in, declaring the water was absolutely perfect, before pulling each other into a deep kiss. Veronica rolled her eyes. 

She approached the water slowly. In truth, she wasn't much of a swimmer. Veronica had never really liked big bodies of water. Her parents had tried to get her swimming lessons back in New York, when she was much younger, but she just never took to it. Deciding they lived far enough from any open bodies of water, and since they didn't have a pool of their own, they allowed her to drop the lessons. She had even managed to skip all swim classes in her old high school and Riverdale thankfully didn't have a pool. 

Betty and Jughead easily waded out into the water until they were waist deep. "Come on V!" Betty called out. Veronica furrowed her brow. 

"What's wrong, too good for river water?" Sweet Pea teased, standing a little further into the water and off to her right. 

"No. That's not it. I just..." She trailed off, suddenly feeling embarrassed that she in fact didn't know how to swim. 

"You don't know how to swim do you?" He asked, a weird sort of sincerity in his tone. 

"No. I don't." She replied simply. 

She watched as he took a few quick steps toward her. "Here. Come on." He said, extending his hand toward her. 

Veronica stared at it for a half second before deciding to take it. His skin was warm and she felt the heat travel up her arm and spread through her whole body. She tried to chalk it up to the weather, but as she took a hesitant step further into the water, she knew it was more than that. 

They walked out slowly until the water was just reaching her waste, which meant for Sweet Pea, who stood over a foot taller than her, and even Betty and Jughead, who were both tall in their own right and had walked toward her a bit, the water was nowhere near their waist. 

"What's wrong V?" Betty asked, approaching her and Sweet Pea, clearly taking notice of their linked hands. 

"She doesn't know how to swim." Sweet Pea answered for her. 

"You don't?" Jughead questioned. 

"No! We never lived near water or had a pool so it was never a necessity. Plus, water is..." She paused, glancing out toward the water. "Scary." 

From the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of Sweet Pea. He seemed almost sorry for her. At least briefly. Then his expression changed to something almost sinister and she turned to look directly at him. 

"Well the only way to get over a fear is to just jump right into it." Before Veronica could think, he was hoisting her up over his shoulder, his strong arms wrapped around the back of her thighs, as he walked out into the water. 

"Oh my god what are you doing?" Veronica squealed, trying to wiggle from his grasp. It was pointless. 

"Helping you get over your fear." He said simply. 

She was hanging mostly upside down, her only view of his lower back. She reached an arm out and swatted his butt. "Put me down Sweet Pea!" 

"If you insist!" 

"Wait!" Suddenly she was immersed in water up to her neck, unable to find the ground with her feet. "I can't touch, I can't touch!" She yelled out, gripping his forearms. 

"Calm down. I can, you're fine." He said almost laughing. 

Veronica quickly realized he was only in up to his chest, standing firmly as he held her up. She slowed her movements significantly. 

"I'm gonna teach you how to tread water." He said, looking right into her eyes. "Kick your legs around and move your arms in time with them. It will keep you afloat. It'll feel weird at first but you'll get it." 

Veronica did just that, releasing her grip from his arms. At first, it didn't seem to be doing anything but as she started to feel a rhythm take place she also started to feel her head come up above the water a bit more. It was easier then she thought it would be. 

"Good good. You're a natural." Sweet Pea said. "Now I'm going to let go." Veronica hadn't realized he had been holding on to her waist and felt a shock of panic the moment his palms left her skin. 

"What, no, don't let go of me!" She yelled out as she reached for him. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs coming up around his waist. 

They were so close, her mouth hovering slightly over his, she could feel his breath on her skin. Suddenly it didn't matter that she was in the middle of giant river, she wanted to know just how soft his plump lips were. 

She felt his hands grab hold of her waist, pulling her back slightly, and she couldn't help but feel a little sad and hurt. 

"Sorry. I just kind of freaked out." She explained as she removed her legs and arms from around him. He held her waist firmly while she began the treading motion again. 

"It's... it's okay. Just keep your arms and legs moving and don't freak out. I'm not going to let you drown Veronica." His voice was so deep and husky and the way he said her name was almost intoxicating, but she did what he told her. 

This time when he let go she remined a float, lightly treading in the water with her head just above. She couldn't deny how good it felt, almost freeing. 

"I'm doing it!" She squealed, unable to hide her excitement. 

"Yea you are. I told you you could." He replied, a wide smile on his face and a hint of pride in his voice. He sank down in the water until he was eye level with her. "So how does it feel?" He asked. 

"Freeing." She said simply, taking in a deep breath. 

"Good." He replied before quickly dipping under the water. 

Veronica turned quickly, making sure to keep her arms and legs moving to stay afloat. She couldn't see him anywhere. Suddenly she felt something between her legs and before she knew it she was being lifted up out of the water, seated on Sweet Pea's shoulders. 

"Holy shit!" She yelled out. From her new vantage point she could see almost all the way to the other side of the river. "So, this is what it's like to be a giant!" She teased, holding firmly onto his wet locks. 

"Hey Jones! Game of chicken! Loser buys lunch!" Sweet Pea called over to Betty and Jughead, who had been swimming around each other. "Veronica, as much of a turn on it would be any other time, I'm gonna need you to loosen your grip on my hair just slightly."

Veronica felt her cheeks burn and removed her hands from his hair. "Sorry!" 

"You're on!" Jughead called out, before dipping under the water and coming up with Betty on his shoulders. 

The four of them played for approximately five minutes before Veronica promptly knocked Betty off Jughead's shoulders and watched as they both flew under the water. 

"Ha! That's my girl!" Sweet Pea cheered as he held his hand up for her to high five. After she returned it, he reached his hands up under her thighs and bounced her up over his head, letting her land gently in the water, still standing. 

"Don't let Cheryl see those moves or she'll be demanding you join the River Vixens." Veronica teased. 

"Does that mean I'd get to throw you around?" He questioned, one eyebrow raised. 

"Not a chance." Veronica replied before heading back to the shore, gloating to whoever would listen about their win. 

__________

After lounging in the sun for a few more hours Jughead announced that he was starving. The group of them packed everything up into the various cars and made their way over to Pop's. Though it was oppressively hot outside, Veronica's skin will still slightly damn and as she sat at the largest table with everyone she couldn't help the goosebumps that littered her skin or the shiver that made its way up her spine. 

"You cold?" Sweet Pea asked. He was sitting next to her, now dressed in a black t-shirt and his swim trunks. Veronica was still wearing her bathing suit with just a thin sundress she borrowed from Betty over top. 

"A little." She replied. 

"Here." He said, turning to remove his Serpent jacket from the back of chair and placing it around her shoulders. 

"Thank you." She replied, catching a look from Betty who was sitting across from her. Veronica simple squinted her eyes at her, as if to say don't even go there, but Betty either didn't understand or didn't care. 

"So Jughead and I were going to go see a movie tonight." Betty said. 

"We were?" Jughead questioned. 

"You guys should come with us!" Betty said, ignoring Jughead and clearly gesturing to Veronica and Sweet Pea. 

"We should?" Sweet Pea questioned. 

"Yes! It'll be fun! We can catch a movie and then come back and hang out at my place." 

"Oh Betty I highly doubt your mom will even allow-"

"She's going out with FP tonight so she probably won't be home until morning. Lord knows once they head up to the apartment above the Wrym they are deaf to the rest of the world." 

"Oh god." "Come on!" Sweet Pea and Jughead said in unison. 

"Betty I don't-" Veronica tried to come up with some excuse. She knew what Betty was doing. 

"Come on V! Please?" Betty looked at her with those wide green eyes and she suddenly knew why Jughead always looked like such a whipped little puppy dog. It was impossible to say no to Betty. 

"Fine. But I get to pick the movie. I'm not sitting through another one of Jughead's stupid crime drama's." 

"Excuse I have impeccable movie tastes." Jughead defended. 

"Hey I haven't even agreed yet." Sweet Pea tried to argue. 

"Oh you're going. I'm not playing third wheel to Romeo and Juliet." She said, and then leaned in closer to him. "Besides, we can sit behind them and throw popcorn and see how long it takes them to notice." She said in a whisper for only him to hear. 

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. But I agree, no crime drama's. It always sends Jug into a rant about conspiracy theories and then that little vein in his neck starts bulging and it creeps me out." He said with a mock shiver. 

"It does not!" Jughead replied, covering his neck. 

"Yay!" Betty squealed, clapping her hands together. 

Veronica and Sweet Pea both laughed, exchanging a knowing glance between each other. She felt her stomach flip and suddenly wasn't sure how she was going to get through this night. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I asked you guys on Tumblr if you wanted me to update with every chapter I had written so far and all of you said yes so here it is! The next three chapters! I think I'll keep with this theme, updating 3 chapters at a time! 
> 
> As always please leave a comment and tell me what you think! Follow me on Tumblr at heyytherejuliett!

Sweet Pea sat on his ratty couch mindlessly flipping through the short list of TV channels he got. He had been doing this for the last twenty minutes trying to come up with some acceptable excuse to get out of going to the movies with Veronica, Jughead, and Betty. Playing every excuse through in his head he knew there was no way Betty, let alone Veronica, was going to let him get out of it.  

It wasn't that he didn't want to go. In fact, it was the quite the opposite. Every bone in his body felt like it was on fire with nerves. Ever since he got home, all through his shower and getting dressed, he felt this nervous type of energy he had never felt before and it was pissing him off. He was kicking himself for letting some northside princess get under his skin like this.  

All day they had been flirting and glancing in each other's direction with somewhat heated looks. When Veronica had wrapped her whole body around him in the lake he damn near passed out from the heat. He needed to get some space and some clarity but even now, as he sat alone in his trailer, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering right back to her. From the way her skin felt under his hands, to the smile on her face when she managed to actually tread in the water successfully, and most overwhelming of all, the look of Veronica sitting next to him at Pop's with his Serpent jacket wrapped around her. It was way too big for her, but still, the sight of it made his mouth go dry.  

After deciding he for sure couldn't get out of tonight, he made up his mind that he would actively try to keep his distance from Veronica. Sure, they'd probably have to sit next to each other in the actual movie, but that was fine and he could probably just focus on the movie the entire time. After, he would simply tell them he was going to call it a night, saying he needed to get more sleep, and that would be that.  

As he got up from the couch, turning the TV off and tossing the remote down, he felt his phone vibrate. It was Jughead.  

**Jug: Hey dude. I need you to pick Ronnie up. FP needs the truck and I can't fit both the girl on my bike, obviously.**

Sweet Pea sighed. The idea of Veronica on the back of his bike simultaneously turned him on and pissed him all at the same time.  

**SP: Betty can't use her mom's car or somethin?**

**Jug: Her dad has it. Apparently they are still sharing it. Don’t ask.**

**SP: Fine. What time?**

**Jug: I'm heading over there in like 10 mins.**

**SP: Okay.**

He shoved his phone into his back pocket, sighing hard. Already he knew this was going to be harder than he thought it would. Veronica on the back of his bike, her arms wrapped around his waist, her body pressed up against his...  

"You're a fucking idiot!" He said out loud to himself, feeling like a complete fool as he made his way to the back of the trailer, a place he used mostly for storage. He knew he had a spare helmet in there somewhere that Toni used back before she got her own bike.  

Rummaging around in all the bins he found it at the very bottom. It was a simple black helmet with the word  _ princess _ carved into the side. He snorted as he ran his fingers over it. Toni had carved it there, back when she basically declared herself the Serpent Princess, but now it seemed even more fitting for the girl who would be wearing it next.  

He made his way outside, stuffing the helmet into one of the side storage compartments on the back of his bike. After securing his own on his head, he started the bike, and gave himself a few minutes to breath and calm his nerves. It wasn't like him to get this nervous over the prospect of having a girl on his bike, especially considering it was his primary way of picking up dates, but he knew this girl different and he hated it.  

__________ 

The ride to the Cooper residence was short and by now he was able to ride it without really paying attention. It wasn't lost on him that he had been here more times then he'd like in the last few weeks.  

He and Jug were out front leaning against their bikes waiting for the girls to come out.  

"So, any idea what movie we're seeing?" Sweet Pea asked nonchalantly.  

"No idea." Jughead replied dryly.  

"Bet you 10 bucks it's some trashy rom con." He laughed.  

"You're on. I bet it's something closer to The Notebook." Jughead said.  

They both laughed. Secretly Sweet Pea hoped it wasn't some mushy romance and he honestly didn't really take Veronica as the type. Though she was definitely very  _ Breakfast at Tiffany's _ he knew underneath there was some edge to her as well.  

Just then the girls came out. Veronica was wearing a black mini skirt with a sparkly purple crop top. He had to swallow to wet his throat, something he seemed to have to do a lot around her.  

"You can't wear that." He said to her as she approached.  

"Excuse me? What decade is that?" She shot back, clearly offended. He mentally kicked himself for not explaining further.  

"No, I mean you can't wear that and ride on the back of my bike. You need..." He paused, stealing a glance at her legs. Her thighs were thick and smooth and he immediately regretted looking. "Pants."  

Veronica huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Seriously?"  

"Yes seriously. I don't want you to burn your legs on accident plus it can get kind of chilly with the wind. Not to mention, if we were to crash, which we won't, a layer of denim will save you a few layers of skin." He explained.  

She simply rolled her eyes and huffed off in the direction of the house. He shook his head. Her attitude was something he found absolutely infuriating.  

"I probably should have mentioned that to her." Betty said from her position on the back of Jughead's bike.  

"Yea probably." He responded.  

Just then Veronica came back out, now wearing a pair of high waisted black denim jeans and combat boots. He idly thought she could probably wear a plastic bag and still look fucking sexy.  

"Better?" She asked, spinning in front of him.  

He rolled his eyes. "Much. Here." He handed her the helmet.  

She took it, inspecting it in her hands. "Princess? Really?"  

"Fitting." He teased, wagging his eyes brows.  

She rolled her eyes and secured it on her head. "Let's get this over with."  

"Gladly." He responded.  

He started the bike up quickly, holding out a hand to help her get on the back. She hopped on behind him easily, straddling the seat and placing her hands lightly on his waist. Sighing to himself he grabbed her hands and pulled them tight around his him.   

"You have to hold on tight, like this. Don't let go of me." He yelled over the loud engine.  

She simply nodded in response.  

With that they took off. The ride to the movie theater on the north side of town, the Bijou, was actually fun. He followed Jughead up a winding road that ran parallel to Sweetwater River. It was early May but the night was still somewhat warm and he reveled in the feeling of the warm air on his face, trying desperately not to think about the beautiful girl on the back of his bike with her arms wrapped around him and how gorgeous she probably looked with her hair blowing in the wind.  

The movie theater wasn’t nearly as packed as Sweet Pea would have expected for a Saturday night. Especially since the closing of the Twilight Drive in, though if he’s honest with himself that was more a place to hide out in your car and make out then it was to watch an actual movie. Still, he figured more teens would have flocked to the northside to escape the prying eyes of adults for a chance to paw at each other in the dark. 

“So Veronica, what movie are you torturing us with tonight?” Jughead asked in a sardonic tone. 

“Calm down Negative Nancy. Apparently every weekend, along with the showing of today’s most popular films, they also show a sort of greatest hits collection. This weekend happened to be Marlon Brando themed and in about 20 minutes one of my favorite films of his will be playing in theater 10.” She explained, tossing her silky raven hair over her shoulder. 

“Let me guess,  _ A Streetcar Named Desire _ .” Jughead mused. 

“I’ll bet it’s  _ The Godfather _ .” Sweet Pea spoke up, giving her a pointed look. His intent was clear, the subtle dig at her father and his very godfather like business dealings, and he could tell it wasn’t lost on her. 

“While both of those are of course excellent choices, they aren’t my favorite.” She simply said, approaching the ticket window. “Four tickets for  _ The Wild One _ .” She said to the younger looking girl behind the glass. He was so distracted by her choice he didn’t even notice she had pulled out a black credit card and paid for all of their tickets. 

“You didn’t have to pay for everyone’s ticket V, we could’ve managed.” Betty said, almost sounding a bit offended. 

“Yea we don’t need your charity.” Sweet Pea huffed. They hadn’t even made it into the theater yet and already he was feeling uncomfortable. 

“Please. It’s been a month and Daddy still hasn’t shut off my credit cards so, I figured might as well milk it for all it’s worth until he does, right?” She said with an air of coolness that pissed him off. 

“Oh you mean live off of Daddy’s dirty money until you get tired of slumming it and decide to head back to your real life?” His tone was more chipped then he had meant it to be, but it was too late to apologize. In truth he meant what he said. While he thought it was extremely brave of Veronica to try and cut ties with her family, it had only been a month and she could probably go back any time with nothing more than a small reprimand from her parent’s. Seeing her use her family’s money still only further cemented this idea in his mind. 

“Wow Sweet Pea, why don’t you tell us how you really feel?” Betty said, her brows furrowed in anger. 

“What? It’s the truth!” He defended. “Moving out of your parents house is all fine and dandy, but it’s just geography. You’re still a spoiled northsider using Daddy’s money to try and impress everyone around you.” He reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. “One for  _ The Wild One _ .” He said to the girl behind the glass, promptly handing her the money in exchange for the ticket. “News flash,  _ princess _ , it doesn’t impress anyone here.” 

“Don’t be such an asshole Sweet Pea!” Betty spoke up. Jughead stood quietly next to her, not making his opinion known out loud, though his silence was all the clarification Sweet Pea needed to know he didn’t necessarily disagree with him. 

“No, Betty, he’s right.” Veronica said finally, her eyes focused somewhere in the distance, as if she was coming to the realization of something. “He’s absolutely right.” She reached into her expensive bag and pulled out her wallet. He followed her with his eyes as she made her way over to a nearby garbage can. One by one she took each card from her wallet, folding it back and forth over and over again until it snapped in half, and then deposited it in the garbage. When she was done, she pulled a wad of cash from a different compartment in her wallet and made like she was going to also throw that in the garbage as well when the group of them leaped forward to stop her. 

“Okay, okay you’ve made your point. Throwing literal cash out is a bit to far.” He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. His palmed almost seemed to tingle where it touched her skin. 

“Well then, here, you take it. I don’t want it.” She said quickly as she shoved in it his direction. 

He jumped back slightly as if it was poison. “I don’t want that!” 

“Betty? Jughead?” She asked, extending her arm out to each of them, the cash now wadded up in her hand. 

“No way!” They both said in unison. 

For a moment she just stared at it while they stared at her, then as if a light bulb had turned on she looked up and started looking around. 

“Hey, you! Hey kid!” She called out, walking quickly over to a boy who couldn’t be any more than eleven years old. He was wearing a grey pull over hoodie with the hood up and a pair of large headphones around his neck. “Here, take this.” She said once she reached him, shoving the money into his scrawny hands. 

“Um, what- oh- thank you!” Was all he managed before she turned and walked away. 

Sweet Pea stood there stunned, his eyebrows nearly meeting his hairline. She had literally just gave away at least 500 dollars to a complete stranger and he didn’t know whether to be impressed and maybe even a little proud that she had done it without a second thought, or angry and irritated at the fact that she could even do that without a second thought. He decided a mix of all was fine. 

A few moments later, after he and Jughead had gone in half for the snacks, they were all seated in the theater stuffing their mouths while the screen flickered with movie previews for the upcoming summer. He was seated next to Veronica, who was seated next to Betty, who had Jughead on her other side, and he even though not more then ten minutes earlier he had been beyond annoyed with her, he couldn’t help but feel an odd sense of warmth sitting next to Veronica in a dark theater. 

As the movie started he found himself distracted, idly wondering what might have been if she wasn’t who she was and he wasn’t from where he was. They would be just two normal teenagers, here at the movies on a double date with their friends. He might have put his arm around her or tried to hold her hand. Maybe he’d be even more brave and try to sneak a kiss or hell, maybe even cop a feel. That thought of course led him to think back to her just last night, sitting on her bed with her dress down around her waist, the only thing covering her breasts the thin layer of her lacy-

_ No!  _ He thought, physically shaking his head and taking a giant gulp of his soda. Was she beautiful? Yes. Obscenely sexy? Damn straight. But none of that would change the fact he would not let himself go there with her. No matter how smooth her skin looked in the light from the oversized screen ahead or how soft and juicy her lips looked, wet and red from the slushie she’d been drinking. 

“What?” She asked and suddenly he realized he’d been staring at her. 

“Uh, nothing. Sorry.” He said shaking his head to try and focus on the movie. 

Unfortunately he’d seen this one before. His mom, back before the drugs had taken over her life and then taken her from him altogether, had been very fond of Marlon Brando. She’d spend the weekends watching every movie he played in, holding Sweet Pea in her lap, being sure to shield his eyes from the more adult aspects of each film. 

This particular film had always been one of his favorites as well. Even before he himself joined a biker gang he had been drawn to that outlaw life he saw depicted on the screen in front of him. Something about those men in their leather, their devil-may-care attitude, was something he admired. Now of course, having been immersed in actual gang life for a few years, he knows it’s much more than an attitude or a style. 

Sweet Pea watched as Johnny enters Bleaker’s cafe and is suddenly struck by how ironic it is that Veronica chose this movie. As a child, he didn’t care much for the romantic aspects of the movie, only really finding himself enthralled in the violence and badassery of it all. But underneath it all there really is the story of Johnny and Kathie. He’s attracted to Kathie up until he finds out he’s the sheriff’s daughter. Like Sweet Pea, this is a line he won’t cross (though he obviously eventually does.) 

He wonders if there’s a lesson to be learned there but doesn't get a chance to think it through when Veronica makes a snorting noise next to him. He glances at her quickly, noticing the annoyance in her expression. 

“What?” He asks quietly. 

Veronica simply gestures to her side with her head where Betty and Jughead are engaged in a full blown make-out session, with Betty nearly in Jughead’s lap. 

He rolled his eyes at the sight. 

“See this is why your attendance was absolutely necessary.” Veronica said, nudging his side, elicisint a soft laugh from him. 

“Yea I guess I could see how third wheeling it might not be too much fun.” He replied. 

“You’d think I’d be used to it by now.” Veronica mused, staring at the screen. 

“By now? You and red have only been broken up for like what, not even a full 24 hours. Surely you can give yourself more time.” 

“True. But I’ve been pretty much third wheeling it with these two since I moved out of my parents. Jughead and Archie just haven’t been on good terms and Betty is my best friend so.” She said with a hint of sadness in her voice. He wondered for a moment if she was regretting her decision to end things with Archie, or more importantly, her parents. 

He didn’t say anything, mostly because he didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded in a knowing way and went back to eating his popcorn and staring at the movie he wasn’t really watching. 

_______________

 

When the movie finished, and they had made it back to Betty’s, Sweet Pea tried in vain to get out of staying. 

“Absolutely not Sweet Pea. I made chocolate chip cookies, had milkshakes from Pop’s delivered, and even dug out four different board games!” Betty had said giving him a stern look. 

He had looked to Veronica and Jughead for help, but neither one seemed to want to take on Betty. He couldn’t blame them honestly. As little as she was, he could see a fire behind her eyes, the same he saw the day they busted into her house, that seemed to say  _ try me _ , and that is not something he wanted to mess with. 

So there he sat, at Betty’s large dining room table, sitting across from Jughead while they waited for Betty and Veronica to change. In front of them was not only chocolate chip cookies, but a whole assortment of snacks ranging from chips, to cookies, to those delicious little store bought cupcakes Sweet Pea hates to admit he loves. There were also of course the milkshakes Betty had delivered, by who he didn’t know considering as far as knows Pop’s doesn't deliver. 

Jughead was elbow deep in a bag of chips with a half eaten cookie in the other hand when the girls came walking into the room. 

“Wow Jug, we should commission a painting of you in that exact position. I think it would truly capture your true essence.” Veronica teased, taking a seat next to Sweet Pea.

“Yea you’re dad could hang it up at the Wyrm.” Sweet Pea added, laughing. 

“Ha, ha. So I eat a lot. Let’s all laugh it up.” He said sarcastically. 

“Leave Juggie alone, he’s a growing boy.” Betty said as she brushed away a wild curl from his forehead and kissed his cheek. He smiled wide and smug like. 

Sweet Pea stared at them for a moment before turning to Veronica, whose expression was mirroring his own. 

“Oh my little Juggie, he’s just a growing boy!” Veronica mockingly cooed at him in a baby voice, pretending to pinch his cheeks. 

“Oh Betty protect me from all the meanies!” Sweet Pea cooed back in an equally mocking voice before the both of them broke out in a fit of laughter. 

“Okay assholes, we get it, we’re adorable and you hate us.” Betty said, slumping down into her chair. Jughead just chuckled and continued to stuff chips into his mouth. 

“No, no B. We don’t hate you guys. I can only speak for myself but I find you both to be refreshing, albeit occasionally nauseating.” Veronica said, smoothing her hands over the table cloth.

“Sounds about right.” Sweet Pea agreed, earning him a small smile from Veronica that made his stomach jump. 

Two hours, one endlessly long game of monopoly, and way to many cookies later Sweet Pea was seated on the large couch in Betty’s fully finished basement. Declaring that it was too early to end the night, she demanded they stay for at least another hour, in which they could watch a movie. Of course that was 20 minutes ago, before her and Jughead had snuck upstairs to look for said movie. As the minutes ticked by it became clearer and clearer they probably weren’t coming back down. 

Veronica was sitting on the other end of the couch, curled into a ball, mindlessly scrolling through her phone. He had been trying hard not to really look at her all night, but now, in the dim lighting of the basement, high on way to much sugar, he couldn’t help it. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, something he had scene on her twice now since her breakup with Archie just last night. It seemed so out of place yet somehow so her all at the same time. She was wearing a pair of skin tight leggings and a dark purple off the shoulder sweater. It was a far cry from her usual mini skirt and tight dresses, but it was still sexy all the same. 

“Do you like what you see?” Veronica asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. 

“Huh? What?” He questioned, shaking his head. 

“I asked you that last night but you never answered. So again, do you like what you see?” She put her phone down and shifted so she was facing him, and much closer than before. 

“You were drunk last night.” He said simply, trying to avoid the question, placing his arm across the back of the couch trying to look casual and nonchalant. 

“So? I’m not drunk now.” She said, inching a bit closer into the opening he had just inadvertently created for her, so that her thighs were touching his, 

Sweet Pea felt his throat go dry. Her body was warm where it touched his and now being closer to her than ever before he could see little specks of gold in her brown eyes that seemed to dance around, making them seem impossibly. He tried to think of an answer, one that would not necessarily be a lie but also not be the total truth, but it seemed his brain had gone foggy. 

She seemed to notice this as he watched her bite her bottom lip, an action that caused a twitching in his jeans.  _ Fuck _ he thought. He moved slightly, angled his body so it was facing her and putting a bit of space between them. He couldn’t let her get under his skin, so instead, he decided to try and gain back some control. 

“So what if I did?” He asked, leaning toward her a bit so their faces were merely inches away. It was a power move and though he didn't exactly feel in control at the moment, he was doing all he could to fake it. 

What he didn’t anticipate was that he might have met his match in Veronica. Without hesitation she brought her lips to his. Suddenly his whole body was ablaze, the hottest point being where their mouths met. She tasted like caramel and chocolate and when her tongue swept over his he felt it in his stomach. 

Throwing all caution to the wind he found his hands tangled in her hair, causing her loose bun to come undone, as he tilted her head back to deepen the kiss. She leaned into him, and before he knew she was in his lap, straddling him. He moved his mouth from hers as he licked and kissed his way down her neck to her exposed shoulder and collarbone while his hands explored, finding their way down her sides and settling on her hips, helping her grind into him. 

It was all hands and mouths and friction and if he could just turn his brain off for a moment he could live to enjoy this, soaking in every last drop her body was willing to give, but as her teeth sunk into the skin of his neck where the symbol of a double headed serpent had been permanently etched, he heard that voice in his head reminding of how stupid he was being. It was the same voice that always stopped him from making mistakes he knew could cost him. 

“Wait, wait, Veronica stop.” He said, pushing her back lightly. 

“Don’t worry. They aren’t going to come down here.” She said, mostly ignoring him as she bucked her hips forward and found his mouth with hers, her hands finding purchase in the hair at the nape of his neck, lightly pooling. 

He let her kiss him for a moment and even kissed her back before pulling away again. 

“Veronica stop.” This time his tone was more demanding as he pulled her hands from his hair. 

“What-” She started to say as he picked her up and placed her on the couch next to him. 

“I can’t… we can’t do this. This can’t happen.” He said, standing and running his hand through his hair. 

“Why not?” She asked, her voice cracking slightly. 

He had expected her to be offended, maybe even angry, but not hurt. It was like a punch to the gut and for a moment he almost took it back, almost. 

“Because we just fucking can’t.” He said quickly, making his way toward the stairs. “I gotta go. Tell Betty and Jughead… well tell them whatever the fuck you want. I just gotta go.” 

As Sweet Pea stepped out into the warm dark summer night he felt an unease in his stomach he had never felt before. He knew he had made the right decision, he couldn’t let himself go there with Veronica, couldn’t get lost in her kiss and the way her body felt in his hands, so why did he suddenly feel so sick. 

He managed to make it to the curb where his bike was parked across the street before his stomach decided to betray him, emptying itself of all it’s contents. He heaved and heaved until he was completely empty, his head buzzing loudly. 

As he rode his bike home he tried to chalk it up to too much junk food but somewhere in the back of his mind, or maybe in the pit of his stomach, he knew the truth. 

 


	5. Chapter 5

It had been four full days since Veronica had found herself being rejected by Sweet Pea after an unbelievably steamy kiss in Betty’s basement. She can still feel the sting of his lips on hers, the heat from his touch on her skin, and the gnawing pain her chest from his unexpected rejection. That being the most prominent. 

She was sitting at the vanity in her room, well Polly’s room, trying to finish an essay that was due last week but all she could think about was him. She hadn’t seen him since he stormed out of Betty’s saturday night. He was either skipping class everyday or just extremely good at avoiding her. 

She still hadn’t been able to figure out exactly where everything went wrong. It was no secret he wasn’t a fan of her father and everything he had done and was planning to do to the southside, that much she couldn’t blame him for, but she was not her father. At least that what she had been telling herself for the last month. 

Veronica sighed and closed her computer, knowing it was a lost cause. Her brain had been tuned to one channel since Saturday night and she couldn’t seem to find the remote. She decided maybe a snack or a glass of water would help, so she made her way downstairs. 

As she reached the bottom landing she could hear the muffled sounds of Betty and Alice’s raised voices. They must have been in the basement and Veronica crept closer to the basement door so she could hear better. 

“Elizabeth I am the parent. You will respect me in my own home!’’ Alice demanded with an exhausted tone. 

“That’s rich coming from you mom.” Betty challenged. 

“What on earth is that supposed to mean?” It was clear by her tone that Alice was offended. 

“Come on mom. You are gone like every night, over at the Wyrm with FP.” Betty shouted. 

“I’m an adult! What I do behind closed doors in none of your business!” 

“When it involves my boyfriends father it is!” Betty shouted back. 

Veronica stepped back from the doorway then. If there was one thing she did not need to hear anything more about, it was Alice and FP sex life. 

As she moved past the doorway, she decided to change courses and head toward the front door. There was no ways she’d be able to avoid hearing their argument unless she went back up to her room, and in truth she was feeling a little suffocated. 

As she stepped out onto Betty’s front porch and made her way down the front walkway, she made sure to take in a deep breath. The sun was just beginning to set and everything was blanketed in a warm yellow glow. 

She took a seat on the steps at the end of the walk way and for just a moment she let the warm breeze blow across her skin, trying to clear her mind of everything floating around inside it. Aside from being completely avoided by Sweet Pea and trying to lick the wound of rejection left behind by him, it was only Wednesday and already Veronica was ready for the week to be over. Between River Vixens and Student council she was feeling stretched pretty thin, and her school work was suffering because of it. 

It didn’t help that on Tuesday night her father had called her. Another weak attempt at getting her to come back home. Empty promises of going legit and of course trying to buy her love by bribing her with expensive jewelry and a new car. When she had told him she cut up all her credit cards and threw them away in a movie theater trash can she could have swore she heard his teeth grind together. 

In truth she didn’t know if her father would ever stop trying to win back her affection and she worried that one day she may fall prey to him again. Find herself manipulated right back into the Pembrooke, her signature pearls around her neck like a collar attached to an invisible leash that let to the hand of her father. This last month may have been stressful and beyond emotional, but the freedom she felt from being away from her father was unexplainable. 

“Hey Ronnie.” Archie’s voice broke through her reverie and she looked up to see him standing on the sidewalk a few feet in front of her. “I saw you come out and… I guess I just wanted to come say hi.” 

He looked good, though somewhat tired, not that she cared. The Archie she fell for had been long gone and she didn’t think she would ever find him again. 

“Well, hi. And, bye.” She said starting to get up to head back in the house. 

“Veronica wait!” He called out. There was something to his tone that made her actually stop. It was almost painful to hear, almost. 

“What Archie?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I miss you.” It was three simple words but somehow they thawed her icy exterior just a bit. 

Veronica sighed deeply, and brought a hand up to finger the bead of pearls that no longer lived around her neck. When she realized what she was doing she dropped her hand. 

“I’m hard not to miss.” She replied simply. 

“Extremely.” Archie said, a small smile playing on his lips as he took a step toward her. 

He was now only about a foot away and if she wanted to she could reach out and run her hand through his red hair. For a fleeting moment she thought she might, but then a flash of leather and raven hair not unlike her own flew across her eyes and suddenly the thought of touching Archie felt wrong. 

“Look Archie, I don’t really have anything to say here.” She said, holding up a hand to keep him from moving any closer. 

“Then let me do all the talking.” He paused as if waiting for her to cut him off but she decided that even though she doesn’t feel the need for closure, maybe he does, and though he doesn’t deserve it, she would still grant it. 

“Ronnie, all I’ve done the last few days is think about you and me and all the ways I’ve screwed everything up and I’m so sorry. I get it now, why you don’t want anything to do with your dad. I think I’m ready to make that choice as well, I just… I don’t think I can do it alone. I need you Veronica. I love you.” Archie finished by moving closer and placing his hand on her hip. 

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She expected him to apologize, sure, maybe even beg for her back, but never once could she have foreseen Archie saying he wanted to also cut ties with her father. She had resigned herself to the fact that Archie had gotten in too deep a long time ago. It was something she struggled with at first, but after a while she simply looked at him the same way she did her parents. 

Now though, seeing him stand before her saying all the things she had been wanting him to say for weeks, bathed in the glow of a setting sun, it was hard to even think clearly. She still loved Archie, she knew that just by looking at him, but she wasn’t sure if she was still  _ in love _ with him, or if she ever could be. There was also the fact that she could still feel the hands and mouth of another man all over her body. Sweet Pea, in all his leather clad, combat boot, permanent scowl wearing glory had stomped his way under her skin, and even after his painful rejection, she couldn’t quite figure out how to get him out. 

Archie stood in front of her expectantly. She was sure he probably thought she’d fall into his arms and they’d live happily ever after, but that just wasn’t something she could give him.

“Archie I… I just…” She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t give him the answer he wanted. 

“You don’t… you don’t have to say anything. You don’t have to promise me anything. Just tell me you’ll think about it. Think about us.” 

As she looked into his soft brown eyes, she decided that was something she could do. 

“I will think about it Archie.” She said finally, stepping back and out of his grip. 

She didn’t wait for his reply before she turned around and headed back up the walkway. This is something she had been waiting to hear from Archie since the day she packed her bags. Surely she should feel some type of relief or at least vaguely excited at the prospect of her boyfriend for the last year and a half finally taking her side, but instead, as she ascended the stairs to her room, all she could think about was a certain tall Serpent. 

____________

 

Thursday morning Veronica woke with a dull headache. She showered, downed a couple Aspirin, and even tried some light meditation before really starting her day, but even now as she and Betty walked arm in arm to the cafeteria, it was still there, and growing in strength. 

“You alright V?” Betty asked as Veronica rubbed her temple. 

“Yes I’m fine, I’ve just had this killer headache since I woke up.” As the girls rounded the corner Veronica felt her stomach clench at the sight of Sweet Pea. 

He was sitting across from Jughead at their usual table, Fangs next to him. Kevin was on the other side of Fangs with Toni and Cheryl seated across from then. He looked at her briefly, his expression blank before he turned to look back at Jughead who was carrying on about something. 

Veronica righted her shoulders, deciding she would not let him any further under her skin. If he wanted to act like nothing happened, surely she could do the same. 

“Hello ladies and lovebirds. How is everyone’s day going?” She asked as she sat down next to him. 

“Principal Weatherbee has it out for the Serpents and I’ve had just about enough of his biased and unfair treatment. I’m calling for a walk out!” Jughead said with anger, bringing his fist down hard on the table. 

“Whoa, what did we miss?” Veronica asked, her question directed to the whole group. 

“Apparently Weatherbee agreed to a petition to remove all vending machines from the school under the premise of encouraging students to eat more healthy snacks. Jughead here thinks it’s a crime against the southside.” Sweet Pea said flatly. 

“It is! He knows us southsiders can’t afford that healthy crap!” He defended. 

“Speak for yourself Jones. We all know you’re just pissed you won’t be able to get your daily fix of at least seven bags of chips.” Toni replied teasingly. 

“She’s got a point dude. You’re the only I know who even touches that garbage.” Fangs said. 

“What happened to no Serpent stands alone?” Jughead said with an offended tone. 

The rest of the gang just kind of shrugged and he just huffed and pulled a bag of chips out of his bag and bagan eating them. 

“So, Sweet Pea, where have you been the last few days?” Veronica asked casually, taking a bite of her apple. 

“Busy.” He replied simply, not bothering to look at her. 

Veronica felt a surge of anger buble in her stomach. It was one thing to reject her, that she could chalk up to him just not liking her like that, but this coldness, it wasn’t necessary. She hadn’t done anything wrong, especially not to him.

Deciding two could play at this game she simply said okay before reminding Betty and Jughead they should stop at the Blue and Gold before lunch period is over in order to finalize a few things for this week's copy. 

“Hey what are you guys doing after school?” Toni asked, after they had stood up and started gathering their things. 

“You mean after River Vixen’s practice?” Veronica questioned back. 

“Oh that’s cancelled.” Cheryl said, filing her nails. 

“Cancelled? I thought I was the captain now?” 

“Oh you are, but I’m still in charge and I cancelled it.” She said simply. 

Veronica felt the ache in her head grow and pulse. She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw briefly before plastering on a fake smile. “Fine by me.” 

“You guys should come by the Wyrm. We’re just gonna hang out and play some pool but it’ll be fun.” Toni said finally. 

Veronica looked at Betty, who looked at Jughead, who simply shrugged. For a moment she thought about asking Sweet Pea if he’d be there, but thought better of it. “Sure, we’ll be there.” 

With that the three of them walked off in the direction of the Blue and Gold office. 

___________

 

The day had seemed to drag on after lunch. Her English teacher once again asked her about her essay. She swore she would have it to him by tomorrow, something she knew was a lie as soon as it left her mouth. In her last class, Chemistry, she bagan counting down the minutes until the bell rang the moment she walked in the door. 

Her headache from earlier had managed to grow in size, even though she was sure she had taken more than the recommended daily dose of aspirin. The idea of a stress free afternoon playing pool and maybe having a glass (or two) of wine sounded like the perfect remedy. 

Thankfully Jughead had driven FP’s truck to school or else she wasn’t sure how she would have gotten there. This had probably been the biggest transition since moving from her parents. She was unable to call on Andre whenever she needed a ride somewhere. She had had her license for a year but never once had to use it. 

As they walked through the door of the Wyrm she was hit yet again with that now familiar scent of whiskey and cigarette smoke. Toni, Cheryl, Fangs, and Kevin were over by the pool table. She felt a small sense of relief that Sweet Pea didn’t seem to be there, but that relief was short lived when she spotted him at the bar, his arm hung loosely over the shoulder of some girl she didn’t know. 

She was pretty, in that generic and obvious kind of way. She was definitely from the southside, as she was dressed similar to Toni, though she wasn’t wearing a Serpent jacket. As they approached, Sweet Pea nodded in their direction, quickly making eye contact with her before turning his attention back to the girl. 

Veronica felt the anger bubble from earlier grow and threaten to burst. Since she met Sweet Pea many months ago she had heard many stories about him hooking up with southside girls.The River Vixens had taken on a few of those girls and she had heard the gossip in the locker room and during breaks, but it was just that, gossip. She had never actively seen him with a girl, and now, after what had happened Saturday, and all the obvious flirting they had done that same day, it felt almost like a slap in the face. As if he was purposely trying to put on a show in front of Veronica and as she caught him sneaking a glance in her direction, she realized that’s exactly what it was. 

The rest of the afternoon Veronica did her best not to look at him. She focused on the many rounds of pool she was playing, and after beating Jughead for the third time, she found herself actually having fun and completely forgetting about Sweet Pea. He must have noticed her lack of interest because while she was halfway through her second round of pool against Toni and Cheryl, with Kevin as her partner, he and the girl who hadn’t left his side all night came sauntering up next to the pool table, and leaned against the wall. 

“We call next round with whoever wins.” Sweet Pea said, making sure to make eye contact with Veronica. 

She had visions of breaking her pool stick in half and impaling him with it. He was purposely being an ass and now he was actively ruining her fun and she was officially pissed off.

“You’re on.” Toni said as she lined up her next shot. She missed and it was Veronica’s turn. 

Deciding she was going to try and use his close proximity to her advantage, she sauntered around the table slowly, adding a bit more swing to her hips then needed. When she found her shot, she bent down, arching her back a bit being sure to squeeze her arms together in a way that made her cleavage pop up. She made direct eye contact with Sweet Pea as she lined up her shot and sunk her ball. She didn’t miss the clench of his jaw or the way he visible swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and and down. It worked and now she clearly was bothering him as much as he was bothering her. 

She moved around the table again, now focused on finding a good shot. She she lined it up and then looked back over to Sweet Pea to make sure he was still watching. This time, though, he was in a full on lip lock with the southside girl, his large hand cupping her face while she gripped the lapels of his leather Serpent jacket. 

Veronica missed her shot as she felt the flames of jealousy rise all around her. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” She nearly shouted as she stood in front of the two of them, her eyes burning a hole through Sweet Pea. 

“Excuse me? Who even are you?” The girl asked in a somewhat hoity tone. 

“Your worst nightmare if you get to know me well enough.” Veronica replied back taking a step toward the girl. 

“Calm down Veronica.” Sweet Pea said, coming to stand between her and the girl, as if he was protecting her. 

“Calm down? Don’t act like you aren’t only making out with this girl simply to make me mad, or jealous, or whatever your reason is. None of which make sense btw since you’re the one who rejected me when I kissed you!” Veronica shouted at him, craning her neck to look him in the eye. 

“This has nothing to do with you! Believe or not, the whole universe doesn’t revolve around you princess!” He said angrily staring down at her. 

“You two kissed?” She heard Fangs say somewhere followed by an “oh my god” presumably from Kevin. 

“Oh my god spare me your I hate all northsiders bullshit. I get it, you hate my father, and by extension I guess that means you hate me too, though that was really hard to believe when you had your tongue down my throat and your hands on my ass while I was straddling your lap on Betty’s- Ow!” Veronica was cut off by Sweet Pea grabbing her arm, and forcefully leading her out of the bar. 

“Let go of me!” She yelled as they made their way out onto the street. He did just that. 

“What the fuck is your problem Veronica?” His voice was deep and angry and Veronica wanted to laugh. 

“Why did you stop it Sweet Pea?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know you were enjoying it. I could literally  _ feel _ how much you were enjoying it.” She said, arching an eyebrow to make her point. 

“Yea well let’s just say that head isn’t always as smart as this one.” He said leaning toward her and pointing to his head. 

“What does that even mean?”She asked, throwing her arms out. 

“Surely you can’t be that stupid Veronica. Do you need me to spell it out for you?” He was being cold on purpose, Veronica knew that, but it didn’t hurt any less. 

“Fuck you Sweet Pea.” She said finally, turning to walk away. She heard him mutter  _ fuck _ under his breath and then the sound of his boots on the gravel. 

“Veronica, wait.” He was in front her her now, his expression much softer than it was a moment ago, laced with something that looked strangely like fear. 

She couldn't’ explain it. She had only known Sweet Pea for a few months, only ever kissed him once, but for some reason she was feeling things she had never felt before, not even for Archie. 

She reached up hesitantly to touch his face, she half expected him to pull back but he didn’t. She traced the line of his jaw, where he held all his tension, and watched as it visibly relaxed under her touch. Before she could think, or stop herself, she pulled him down to her, bringing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. His lips were soft and full and stung her mouth in the best way. Just as she was starting to slide her tongue past his lips he pulled away.  

“Fuck. I can’t. I just can’t Veronica.” His hands her on either side of her head, their forehead touching. 

Veronica felt the tears take form in her eyes. Knowing she couldn’t stand to be rejected by him yet again she pulled bad, looking away so he couldn’t see her cry. 

“Fine. Whatever.” She said finally walking off. 

This time he didn’t come after her and she didn’t look back. She kept walking, the tears silently spilling down her cheeks. She didn’t understand why. Why he’s stopped it, why he’d pushed her away, why he’d tried to make her jealous. It all felt like a giant joke that she was the butt of and she didn’t like it. 

She hadn’t realized how far she’d walked until she was back at the Coopers, standing on the sidewalk in front of their walkway where Archie had stood just the day before. Archie. She quickly turned her head, looking over to the Andrews house. 

Before she could stop and think about what she was doing she was knocking on his door. 

“Veronica?” Archie said as he opened the door, clearly noticing she had been crying. 

“Yes.” She said simply. 

“Yes?” He asked, a bemused look on his face. 

“Yes, I’m willing to give us another try. As long as you are serious about cutting ties with my father.” 

Archies eyes widened mirroring the smile on his face. “Absolutely. Anything for you Veronica. I’d do anything for you.” He said, pulling her into a tight hug and burying his face in her hair. 

“Is… is your dad home?” She asked pointedly. 

“No, he’s not.” He said with a smug look on his face. 

She followed him inside, closing the door behind her. 

Later that night, as she lay in her bed under the floral pink comforter she cried. She cried harder than she ever remembered crying. It had taken three hot showers for her to feel like her skin was no longer crawling and to erase the feeling of Archie’s hasty hands on her body. 

She knew it was the wrong choice, going to him, giving him a second chance, but as she walked home from the Wyrm, the wounds from Sweet Pea’s rejection still fresh and bleeding, in her mind it was better than being alone. She could learn to love Archie again, maybe even fall back in love with him if they had the time. 

She would help him get out from under her father’s thumb and then help him repair his broken friendship with Jughead and Betty and then the four of them could go back to the way things were before. The core four, sitting at a booth at Pop’s. 

However, as she cried herself to sleep that night, it wasn’t Archie who she pictured next to her in that booth. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

Friday morning hit Sweet Pea like a ton of bricks. He hadn’t slept well, or much at all for that matter. Visions of Veronica’s face, eyes rimmed red with unshed tears as she walked away from him, played on a loop in his head. He tossed and turned and huffed and grunted, unable to reach a deep enough sleep. When his alarm finally sounded it was almost a relief. 

He had downed two cups of coffee and picked up a giant can of Monster on his way to school to try and keep himself running. He half considered skipping, but if he wanted to graduate with the rest of his now colossal sized senior class, he couldn’t afford to lose the credits. 

He was regretting his decision as he made his way down the hall, spotting Betty and Jughead at Betty’s locker. They both had a somewhat angry expression on their faces and he almost decided to just dodge them when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. 

Coming up the other side of the hallways toward him was Veronica, walking arm in arm with Archie fucking Andrews. Sweet Pea clenched his jaw trying to cool his temper. He wanted nothing more then to palm Archies big head into a nearby locker. 

As they walked past him Veronica didn’t look his way. It was if she didn’t even see him, like everything that happened yesterday and last weekend hadn’t happened. He supposes he deserves the cold shoulder but to see her back with Archie after pitching a fit about him and Emma at the bar yesterday, well that was just low. 

“Unbelievable.” Jughead muttered as he and Betty came up next to him. 

“Be nice Jug.” Betty said, earning her an eye roll from Jughead. 

“I’m guessing there back together.” Sweet Pea said flatly, keeping his eyes fixed on Archie and Veronica up until the turned the corner at the end of the hall. 

“That’s what she said. He walked us both to school this morning and they seemed… different. I don’t know.” Betty said, her eyes focused on something on the floor. 

“It’s bullshit. A bunch of empty promises. They’ll either be broken up in a week when she realizes this or…” Jughead paused. 

“Or what?” Sweet Pea asked. 

“Or she’ll be back at the Pembrooke by month’s end. Archie isn’t… he’s not the Archie I’ve known my whole life. His dad getting shot changed him, unfortunately it was for the worse and I don’t know. There’s something off about the whole thing.” Jughead explained. 

Truth be told Sweet Pea didn’t care. He didn’t care why they were back together, or how long it would last, or even what Archie intentions were. All that mattered was that they were together and if anything he should be relieved because now he no longer had to worry.  _ If only it were that simple _ he thought. 

He didn’t feel relieved though. All he felt was anger and rage. He took a deep breath trying to calm his temper but it was no use. Before he could stop himself he was bringing his fist full force into the side of the lockers, creating a giant indent in the side. 

The entire hallway stilled, looking in his direction. Betty jumped slightly while Jughead called out “What the hell man?” He didn’t care though. He stomped off, wiping the blood on his knuckles on his pants. 

For as long as Sweet Pea could remember, anger had been his most familiar emotion. Even as a small child he was always prone to fits of rage when he didn’t get his way. As he got older, and life started dealing him shittier and shitter cards, it only got worse. After his mother died of a drug overdose he watched his father slip slowly into the grips of alcoholism. The more drunk his father got, the more angry he got. They would get in screaming matches that ended with Sweet Pea putting his fist through the wall. It was almost a relief when his dad finally took off when he was fourteen. 

After that he lived with his uncle for one whole unbearable year. In that time he shot up five more inches to reach the height that he is now and he learned how to use his anger and size to his advantage. When he first joined the Serpents FP would take him along on jobs purely as the muscle. He would send him out to rough of up guys who owed the club money, and sometimes, he’d even send him out after gutter men who hit their wives or girlfriends. He enjoyed the fight. It was an outlet he felt comfortable with. 

However that was before the civil war. Now FP tried to keep the club on the up and up as much as possible. Sweet Pea wasn’t sure if that was more because of the war or because of Jughead’s involvement with the gang and FP’s need to protect him. Either way, it left Sweet Pea without a healthy outlet for the anger and rage that he felt all to often. 

It was that same anger that led him to hide out in the student lounge all morning, deciding that between that and the lack of sleep, it probably wasn’t safe for him to be around people, much less arrogant teachers who don’t even want to be teaching him. 

He was sprawled out on the old couch nearly asleep when Fangs and Toni came in. 

“Get up jolly green giant.” Fangs said, slapping the side of his boot. 

“Leave me the fuck alone.” He muttered not moving. 

“Drop the asshole act. It’s just us.” Toni said and he could almost hear her rolling her eyes. 

He sighed and sat him, making room for Fangs to sit next to him on the couch. 

“How's the fist? Jones told us how you almost punched a hole through the lockers when you saw Veronica with Archie.” Fangs said looking over at him. 

Sweet Pea simply rolled his eyes, not wanting to talk about it.

“Come on Pea, what the fuck happened between you?” Toni said, crossing her legs and leaning forward. 

He sighed, leaning forward to drop his head in his hands. He honestly didn’t want to talk about it, mostly because it wouldn’t make any real difference, but always because in general he never wanted to talk about shit. He lived on his own, worked, went to school, took care of himself completely. It seems almost odd to unload some dumb high school drama on his friends.

Sensing that there wasn’t wasn’t a way out of this however, he decided to just be honest. 

“We sorta hooked up at Betty’s the other night.” He said simply. 

“Sorta?” Toni questioned. 

“Well, not sorta. We did hook up. But I stopped it before it really went anywhere.” He clarified. 

“Um why? No offense dude, but you aren’t exactly a prude and far from a virgin. I may be gay but I know when a girl is hot or not and Veronica is most definitely hot.” Fangs said leaning back on the couch. 

“What’s it matter that she’s hot? She’s a northsider.” This is the part he knew his friends wouldn’t get. 

Toni and Fangs looked to each other, then back to him, then back to each other before turning back to him. 

“Is that supposed to mean something?” Fangs questioned. 

“Okay I get that you guys are all totally fine with dating northsiders, you with the fucking Sheriff’s son for christ sakes, and you with the maple syrup queen herself, but I’m just… I’m not as cool with it. Especially not this northsider. Her fucking last name is Lodge.” He could feel his temper rising and he clenched his jaw and mentally counted to ten to try and calm down. 

“Pea, I hate the northsiders just as much as you. Shit, when we first got here I was totally ready to throw down with Cheryl but, I mean, it’s just not worth it. I don’t want to be seperate from them. Northside, southside, these are just arbitrarily drawn out lines by people who came long before us. Who didn’t know any better. None of them are actually any better than us and believe it or not they know that. I mean christ, the shit Cheryl had been through is intense.” Toni explained, tossing her long pink hair over her shoulder. 

“Yea man and Kevin is like literally the least judgemental dude I know. And Betty, I mean shit Betty might as well be a southsider the way she goes hard for all of us.” Fangs added. 

“But she’s not!” Sweet Pea said, a little louder than he intended. “None of them are! Whatever you idiots have to tell yourselves so you can sleep better at night, that’s on you. But don’t try and sell me the same bullshit for half price.” He was standing now, feeling the heat rise on his face. “I’ve been living on my own, making my own rules, and fucking sticking to them since I was 15 years old. I’m not about to let some northside tramp get under my skin and ruin all that.” He paused running his hand through his hair. “Besides, none of that matters now anyway. She’s back that red headed dick so you can all just leave me the fuck alone about it!” 

With that he grabbed his bag and turned to leave the room, slamming his shoulder into Reggie Mantle’s, causing him to stumble back a bit. 

“Watch out you fucking Ogre!” Reggie spat in his direction. 

Sweet Pea stopped dead in his tracks. Any other day, any other time, he might let the dumb jock asshole get away with it. He might walk away with nothing more than a few curse words and some good insults thrown the kid’s way. But today, with his temper already spiking to new levels, it was not looking good for Reggie. 

“What the FUCK did you just call me?” He was toe to toe and face to face with the jock. He had a good 6 inches on him, which he used to his advantage, towering over him. 

“I said, watch out you stupid fucking Ogre.” Reggie said confidently through a clenched jaw. 

Sweet Pea saw red. He pulled back, swinging his arm and landing a perfect hit square on Reggies jaw. It was a good punch and he knew it as soon as his fist made contact. Reggie stumbled back and fell to the ground, making no attempt to get back up.  

He stepped forward then, grabbing Reggie by the shirt and hoisting him up slightly. “Call me anything other then Sweet Pea again and I will make sure you never play another football game in your life.” He said, shoving the boy back against the door and stomping off toward the exit. 

He was done for the day. Done with school, done with friends, done with dumb northside jocks who have never gotten a proper ass beating. Most importantly he was done with Veronica. Done letting her weasel her way under his skin and make a home there. 

______________

It was around 6pm and Sweet Pea was trashed. After leaving school he had gone on a long ride on his bike. For nearly two hours he drove around willing the open road to clear his mind and cleanse his soul. It was his own personal form of meditation.

After that he simply messed about around town, getting some errands done he had been putting off before he found himself at the Wyrm. It was early evening then and even though it was a Friday, the bar was mostly empty. FP had always been pretty laxed on the younger Serpents drinking, so he helped himself to a beer. 

One beer turned into three, which turned into a shot of Whiskey with one of the older Serpents, which turned into another few beers, all culminating in the blisteringly drunk state he now found himself in. In truth, it felt good. His whole body felt warm and his head felt fuzzy, or maybe foggy, either way he liked it and he could almost see why his dad seemed to choose this as his permanent state of being, even if it did cost him his own family. 

He was sitting at the bar nursing a cup of coffee, something FP had insisted on when he had walked in and found him drunk. He figured he would wait an hour or two until he left and then grab himself another beer, or maybe even a six pack, and then walk back to his trailer. He wasn’t stupid enough to try and ride his bike while he was this drunk. 

Just then, Toni, Fangs, Jughead and Betty walked through the door. 

“Well well well, what do we have here?” Toni sang as she came around behind the bar to start her shift. 

“Hey guys!” Sweet Pea said with more cheer then he meant to. He knew he was supposed to feel angry, like he did earlier when he punched Reggie, but at the moment all he felt was light, and the feeling made him want to giggle. 

“He trashed.” Toni said to Fangs, as if he wasn’t sitting right there. 

“He may be drunk but he can still hear you!” He said, slurring his words at the end a bit. 

“Oh Sweet Pea, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk before.” Betty said sitting down next to him and rubbing his shoulder. 

“That feels nice. You’re very pretty Betty.” He said propping his head up by leaning an elbow on the bar. 

“Well thank you Swe-” 

“Not as pretty as Veronica though.” He said cutting her off. 

“Oh lord. Someone get him home before he makes an ass of himself.” Toni said throwing a towel over her shoulder. 

Jughead and Fangs made like they were going to help him up from the stool, but Sweet Pea had other plans. He stood up quickly, trying to take a step back out of their grasp but instead stumbled back and fell on a row of tables, causing a long ruckus. 

“Whoops.” He said, struggling to get himself to his feet, and failing. 

“Give up Pea and just let us help you.” Fangs said, trying to get a good enough grip on him so he could stand him up. 

“What’s going on?” Her voice broke through all the noise. Veronica was standing next to Betty, her purse over her shoulder having just come from the direction of the bathrooms. “Oh my god Sweet Pea, what happened?” She said kneeling down next to him. 

“He’s drunk. He fell. We’re trying to get him.” Jughead explained. 

Suddenly he wasn’t feeling very light anymore. Seeing Veronica there, in this bar, watching him make a complete fool out of himself, was almost completely sobering, almost. He allowed Jughead and Fangs to stand him up and lead him out of the bar. 

It was dark outside now and he almost felt cold as they basically carried him to Jughead’s truck. 

“Let’s put him in the front seat, I’ll drive him over to his trailer.” He heard Jughead say as they lifted him into the truck. He did the best he could to help and after some shoving and grunting he was sat securely in the front seat with his seat belt on. 

“Window is down. If you feel like you’re gonna vomit, aim out the the window please.” Jughead said to him. He merely nodded in agreement.  

“I’ll follow you over on my bike, help you get him inside. Haven’t seen the dude this drunk since…” He didn’t seem to finish that statement for whatever reason. Sweet Pea finished it for him in his head.  _ Not since my mom died. _

“I’m coming with.” Once again Veronica’s voice broke through his thoughts. Jughead tried to argue with her, but it was clear she wasn’t having it. “Tell Betty to cover for me with her mom. He’s gonna need someone to make sure he doesn’t choke on his own vomit and die.” 

A few moments later he heard the driver door open and then shut. His eyes were closed and his head was leaned up against the door. For a moment he thought he was sleeping but as Jughead and Veronica started arguing, he was painfully aware that he was still awake. 

“You know this is your fault right Veronica?” Jughead said, the words dripping in venom. 

“Excuse me? How is this my fault?” She was offended, clearly. 

“He’s been on edge ever since he saw you with Archie this morning. What the fuck did you think you were doing? Trying to get back at him for whatever happened at the Wyrm yesterday? So petty and childish.” Jughead said. 

“Says the boy who kissed his best friends girlfriend to get back at him for kissing his girlfriend.” Veronica said sharply. His head hurt trying to make sense of what she said, but if he was right, that meant Jughead had kissed Veronica and the thought alone made him want to vomit so bad he groaned out loud. 

“Why are you back with him Veronica?” Jughead’s voice was softer, more sincere. 

Veronica didn’t answer for a long time, so much so that Sweet Pea wondered if maybe he had fallen asleep and missed her answer but then she cleared her throat and he stilled. 

“I don’t know.” Was all she said. 

A moment later the truck stopped and he figured they were at his trailer. Jughead and Fangs helped his stand while he dug in his pocket for the key. Once he unlocked the door, Fangs turned on the lights and they shouldered him into his room and onto his bed. 

“Sorry about the mess.” He slurred out, more for Veronica’s benefit then anything else. 

He heard them all leave the room as he laid there. He was thankful they laid him face down because from this position he couldn’t feel the room spinning nearly as much as he knew it was. He was surely going to regret this in the morning. 

“So you’re gonna stay with him tonight?” He could hear Fangs say quietly. 

“Yea it’s no problem. Besides if what Jughead said is right this is kinda my fault so it seems fitting.” She sounded sad and he wanted so bad to tell her it wasn’t. 

“Alright well he keeps come spare blankets and pillows in the hall closet and the couch isn’t too bad. Just text Betty or Jughead if anything goes wrong or you need anything, I’ll be with them all night.” Fangs said, followed by Veronica saying something he couldn’t quite hear. 

He heard his front door open and then close and then all that was left were the quiet sounds of Veronica shuffling around before she came back in the room. 

“Let’s get these shoes off.” She said, slowly unlacing his boots. 

“You don’t have to do that.” He said quietly. 

“Yes, I do. It’s not good to sleep with shoes on, plus it’s very uncomfortable.” She replied, yanking one of his heavy boots off. 

“No, I don’t mean that. I mean staying here, helping me. You don’t have to do that. I’ve been drunk before.” He said, seemingly unable to stop slurring every other word. 

“So drunk you can’t even open your eyes or lift your head to have a conversation with someone?” She yanked off the other shoe.

He stilled. He hadn’t even realized he hadn’t had his eyes open. He really was extremely drunk. 

“Good point. Please don’t leave.” He meant his tone to sound light, but in his ears it sounded almost pleading and he wanted to kick himself. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” He wanted to believe her. To pretend she meant it in a different way, but even drunk he couldn’t let himself dream. 

“Won’t Archie be looking for you?” He asked, having no ability to use his brain to mouth filter. 

“Don’t worry about him.” She said quickly. “Can you roll over real quick?” 

He sighed and threw his arm back, effectively flipping himself over. Veronica moved over him slightly, and started unbuttoning his pants. This caused his eyes to fly open, the bright light blurring his vision a bit. 

“Are you trying to take advantage of me while I’m too drunk to fight you off?” He teased as best as he could. 

“You’d like that wouldn’t you? No, you got something wet and sticky on your pants, I’m assuming from when you fell at the bar. I’m not going to let you sleep in them.” She hooked her finger in his waist band as he lifted his hips a bit, allowing her to slide them down. The sight of her sliding his pants off of him was the stuff of wet dreams and he was silently very thankful for the copious amounts of alcohol running through his bloodstream that was prohibiting his body from reacting to such a sight. 

She pulled back the covers a bit and tucked him in before leaving the room. For a moment he thought she had left for good but then she returned with the small garbage can he kept in the bathroom and placed it beside him on the floor. 

“If you feel like you’re going to get sick, the bin is right here. I’ll just be in the living room if you need anything.” She said quickly. 

He grabbed her wrist before she could leave. “Don’t leave. Stay here with me.” He pleaded. Again he wanted to kick himself for having no filter right now. 

Veronica looked at him for a moment before she turned away. He thought for sure she was going to walk out of the room, but instead, she removed her shoes, turned off the light, and crawled into the bed next to him. She curled up close to his side, and though he was nearly to drunk to move, he wrapped one arm around her, holding her to him tightly. 

In the morning he could chalk it up to being drunk. She would go back home to Archie and he would get on with his life, remembering the feel of her body against his like a tattoo on the skin. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is just a one chapter update! I actually rewrote this chapter after finishing it because I just wasn't happy with it. I felt like I needed to slow things down a bit so this chapter and the next do just that. They get to know each other a bit which is important! 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this! Leave a comment and let me know what you think! You can find my on Tumblr at heyytherejuliett!

Veronica woke up feeling sticky and sweaty, her body still pressed tightly up against Sweet Pea. Light filtered in through dusty blinds and it took her eyes a moment to adjust. Once they did she angled her head up, wanting to sneak a quick peek at his sleeping face. She was too late though, as a small smile started to take form on his mouth. 

“Good morning Veronica,” he said not opening his eyes. 

She felt her cheeks flush having been caught and quickly buried her face in his side. He smelled like leather and musk and she couldn’t help but breath the scent deep into her lungs. She wasn’t sure what time it was and honestly she couldn’t bring herself to care. 

“Good morning,” she mumbled. 

He shifted so he was laying on his side, facing her. Their faces were only inches apart and she could see herself so easily leaning in and pressing their lips together, though she didn’t dare. He had full on rejected her twice now and Veronica was no fool to try again. 

“Thank you,” he said softly, “for staying with me last night.”

“You’re welcome,” she responded simply. 

They stayed in that position for a moment, just staring at each other. She could feel his warm breath on her skin and had to swallow to calm her nerves. She decided it was time to get up, needing some space. 

“Why don’t you go shower and I’ll see what I can do about breakfast,” she said, rising from the bed carefully. She had slept in her clothes from the day before, a small black skirt with a maroon colored sleeveless top. It’s not exactly the most comfortable clothing to sleep in, but it wouldn’t be the first time. 

“Good idea,” he responded quickly before rising and heading out of the room toward the bathroom. 

As Veronica wandered into the kitchen barefoot she pulled her hair up into a messy bun. She busied herself with looking around, finding the appropriate pans, pulling out some eggs and veggies. She was somewhat surprised to find that Sweet Pea’s fridge was fully stocked, as well his cabinets. She turned on the small radio that sat on the counter letting the soft sounds of whatever station Sweet Pea had it set to fill the room. It was a good distraction from the noise of the shower down the hall and kept her mind from drifting to the sight of Sweet Pea, naked, standing under a steady stream of hot water. 

Once she got all the ingredients for a veggie omelet together and in the pan, she headed toward the living room to grab her phone. She was sure she would have a million missed calls and texts from Betty and Archie. She internally cringed at the thought of Archie. She had slept in another man’s bed last night, and though nothing aside from some innocent cuddling had happened, she knew it wasn’t right, even if she couldn’t bring herself to feel that way. 

She was surprised to find that Archie hadn’t called or texted her. Only Betty had, and even though it was only 9am, earlier then Veronica had thought, it was still strange. She hit the return call button next to Betty’s name as she walked back into the kitchen. 

“You’re alive,” Betty said sarcastically as she answered the phone. 

“That I am. Momma Coop isn’t too angry is she,” Veronica asked. 

“Considering she wasn’t home when I got home last night and still hasn’t come home yet, I’ll say she’s probably far from angry,” Betty replied, her tone indicating that she herself might be a bit angry though Veronica wasn’t sure if it was at her or Alice.  

“Wow. Okay, well at least I’m in the clear.” Veronica wasn’t about to approach the topic of where exactly Alice was, knowing full well it was with FP and how much Betty doesn’t want to talk about it. 

“Yea with Archie as well,” Betty said nonchalantly. 

“Wait, what?” Veronica asked in confusion. 

“Yea last night when we got back Archie was being dropped off by Andre. He asked where you were and I just told him you had were inside, that you had gone home early from the Wyrm because you didn’t feel well. He said he’d call you.” 

_ Dropped off by Andre? _ Veronica thought to herself. Andre was her family’s driver and personal bodyguard. Archie was supposed to be cutting ties with her father, not getting rides home from Andre. 

“I guess he’s still sleeping because he hasn’t called. If he comes looking for me just tell him,” she paused not really knowing what to tell Betty to tell him, “I guess just tell him I’m not home,” She said finally, plating the omelet’s that were now done. 

“Okay. Hey V?” the question in Betty’s tone made Veronica pause. 

“What?” 

“Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you and Sweet Pea?” she asked, her tone sounding almost sad. Veronica felt a pang in her heart at the fact that they hadn’t had a chance to talk about everything. Betty was her best friend and the last few weeks, even though they were living together, it almost felt like they were drifting apart. 

Just then Sweet Pea came sauntering into the kitchen wearing nothing but low hung pajama pants, his wet hair falling in front of his face and dropping small pebbles of water onto his hard chest. Veronica watched as one droplet made it’s way from his chest down his abdomen, disappearing into his smooth tan skin.

“Like what you see?” Sweet Pea asked sarcastically, using her own words on her. 

She cleared her throat, quickly turning her attention back to Betty and finishing the food she was cooking. “Yes absolutely Betty,” she said, taking the toast from the toaster and spreading a small amount of butter over it, “How about tonight? A girls night, just you and me.” 

“Sounds perfect!” Betty exclaimed, “Okay I’ll let you go. Call me if you need a ride home later, though I’m sure you won't.” 

Veronica chose to ignore the last statement. “Okay. Talk to you later.” She hung up before letting Betty reply. 

Sweet Pea poured two glasses of orange juice as she finished plating the food. She followed him into the living room, setting everything down on the coffee table. Veronica made herself comfortable, while Sweet Pea went back into the kitchen to grab napkins and turn off the radio. 

“This looks great Veronica, thank you,” he said with a smile as he sat down next to her. 

“You’re welcome,” she replied taking a bite of her food, “It’s not often I get to cook for someone, so it was nice.” 

He smiled sideways at her before taking a bite of his own. A small moan escaped his lips and Veronica felt her insides clench. In an effort to distract herself, she took another big bite of her food. 

The two ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Sweet Pea picked up the remote to the tv up and turned it on. The channel it was tuned too was playing Grease and it was relatively early in the movie, the scene where Rizzo and the other Pink Ladies are singing Sandra Dee. 

“Oh I love this movie!” Veronica exclaimed before Sweet Pea could change the channel. He rolled his eyes slightly, but placed the remote back on the table, seeming content enough to watch it. Veronica smiled in triumph, taking a bite of her toast. 

They had both finished their food and settled back on the small couch. Veronica was curled up on one end with her feet tucked up underneath her, lost in the movie as Danny tried to make a move on Sandy at the drive in. For the first time ever while watching the movie she finds herself almost sympathizing with Danny. 

“Why did you stay last night?” Sweet Pea’s voice broke through her thoughts, the question taking her by surprise. 

“What?” she asked with a bemused look on her face. 

“Why did you stay with me last night,” he asked again, turning his body toward her more. 

“You asked me to.” She knew this wasn’t what he was asking, but she didn’t have a real answer to give him. It felt almost instinctual to want to come and take care of him. Jughead’s words about it being her fault seemed to cement that into her head. 

“That’s not what I mean,” he said simply. 

She took deep breath, turning back to the tv screen for a moment. Danny was singing about being alone at the drive-in. She was about to explain when he cut her off. 

“I just don’t get it Veronica. I’ve been nothing but a complete asshole to you. Which, by the way, I’m really sorry about. You don't deserve that. I just,” he paused, running a hand through his now mostly dry hair, “I’ve been on my own since I was 15, shit even before that I was basically taking care of myself. I’ve always had these rules, or codes, that I tried to live by. Stay out trouble, work hard, keep my grades up, save money, and most importantly, don’t mess with Northsiders in any capacity, unless of course it’s Serpent stuff, and then I don’t really have a choice.” 

Veronica nodded, not sure if she should say anything. They hadn’t ever really had a conversation like this. They were always either flirting, fighting, or just being way to sarcastic toward one another. It was so refreshing to hear him open up a bit.

“That’s why you’ve been pushing me away.” She moved closer on instinct, her eyes flitting between each of his, as if searching for truth behind them. 

“Yea it is,” he responded simply. 

“Do you like me Sweet Pea?” The question came out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She instantly wished she could take it back. If he rejected her for a third time, it would break her, especially in this way. 

He stared at her for a long moment, running his hand through his hair and down his face before meeting her eyes with his. They were dark and impossibly stormy. He didn’t need to open his mouth for her to know the answer, but god was she relieved when he did. 

“More than I should,” he said with a shaky voice. 

Veronica moved closer, unsure of what she was doing. She licked her lips and waited for him to tell her to stop, but he didn’t. She inched closer again and he reached a hand out to her, settling it in her waist, causing her to freeze. She expected him to push her away or halt her movements, but instead he pulled her toward him ever so lightly. 

Their movements were hesitant and nervous. Her unsure of what he wanted, waiting for him to change his mind any second, him knowing exactly what he wanted and unsure if he should finally give in or not. 

Slowly she made her way into his lap, like she had that night in Betty’s basement, straddling him. Her skirt had ridden up embarrassingly high, laving nothing to the imagination but she didn’t care. His eyes never left hers as he gripped her hips tightly and took in a deep sharp breath. She ran her fingers along his clenched jaw and up into his hair, angling his head back a bit as she adjusted and hovered over him slightly. 

“What do you want Sweet Pea?” She meant it to be a question but it felt more like a plea. If he stopped her now, if he ended it, this would be it. She would move on, learn to be happy with Archie, and never look back. 

She was shaking, her nerves starting to get the best of her as she waited for him to answer. He tightened his grip on her hips, bringing her down to him more. She could feel his arousal already prominent through his loose pajama pants. Nothing but a few thin layers of material between it and her own glistening center. 

He brought one hand up to cup her face. His hand was large and warm and she leaned into the touch, closing her eyes for a moment. He ran his thumb along her lip and she chased it with her tongue, wanting so desperately to taste him. 

“God I’ve been such an idiot.” Before she could think he was bringing her mouth down to his, crashing their lips together in a hot wet kiss. Veronica couldn’t help the cry that escaped her mouth at the contact. 

Her hands quickly found purchase in the hair at the nape of his neck, tugging and pulling, wanting him as close as possible. His own hands seemed to be everywhere, moving from her hips, to spread out over her back pulling her body flush against his; in her hair, angling her head to the side to deepen their kiss. It was hot and rushed and she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

He moved his hands to the hem of her shirt. “I need this off,” he said quickly breaking their contact for a brief moment to remove it. Once it was gone his hands were on her breasts. He ran a thumb over the thin black lace fabric, watching as her flesh perked to his touch. Veronica arched into his touch as she bucked her hips on him, desperately needing the friction to sooth the growing ache at her core. 

A low growl escaped his throat and before Veronica knew it he was standing up, holding her up under her thighs, and heading toward his bedroom. She placed wet kissed along his neck, licking and sucking her way up to his mouth as they reached the bed. He set her down gently taking a moment to look down at her and appreciate the sight. 

Her skirt was now bunched up around her waist, leaving her nearly completely exposed as she was sure the thin black lace thong she was wearing hid almost nothing. Sweet Pea’s eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them as he settled himself over her, taking her mouth in his roughly. They kissed long and hard and when he ground himself against her core she nearly choked on her own lost breath. 

“Please,” she begged him, needing to find some sort of relief. The ache in her gut was so strong she felt like she was explode at the lightest touch. 

Sweet Pea stood up slightly and took her by the hips and flipped her over. He took a moment to run his hands over her plump ass before unzipping her skirt, removing it, and flipping her back over. Veronica was experienced when it came to sex, but she had never been with a man who seemed to take charge the way Sweet Pea was doing. She was pretty dominant in all areas of life and it always seemed to always carry over to the bedroom as well. She found herself neary panting at how dominant and sure of what he wanted he seemed to be. 

He sat back on his knees between her legs and ran his hands down her inner thighs toward her waiting center. She could hardly keep still at the anticipation of him touching her. He lightly ran both his thumbs over the now soaked material of her panties as his large hands kept her legs spread impossibly wide. Veronica writhed and moaned breathlessly feeling like her whole body was on fire about about to explode. 

Sweet Pea hooked a finger in the front her bra, “off”, he demanded simply. She complied quickly, reaching a hand behind her and unhooking her bra. As soon as it was gone his mouth found one her nipples, flicking it over with his tongue before latching on and sucking roughly while he fondled the other nipple between his thumb and index finger. Veronica squirmed and arched into his mouth. 

He let go of her nipple with an audible pop, trailing hot kisses all the way up her neck to her mouth. She tangled her hands in his hair pulling him back slightly. “Please Pea, please touch me,” she pleaded. 

He let out a low growl before sitting up. He hooked his fingers in her panties and she expected him to move them down her legs but instead he tugged roughly, ripping them completely apart. Veronica nearly lost it at the action. 

“I’ll buy you new ones,” he said as his finger quickly slid between her wet folds. “Fuck you are so wet.” 

“Oh my god,” Veronica cried out as he began making fast circles on her swollen clit. She came embarrassingly fast, falling apart all over his fingers, her nails digging into his biceps. 

Sweet Pea glanced up at her, a small smirk playing on her mouth. “That has to be some kind of record.” 

Veronica rolled her eyes as she slid her hands beneath the waistband of his pajama pants, pleased to find he wasn’t wearing any underwear, taking him in her hand. He was long and hard and warm and she stroked him up and down at a steady pace. 

“Fuck,” he said, biting into her shoulder, “Stop before I make a mess and embarrass myself.” Veronica giggled lightly. He gave her a heated look that immediately put a stop to that. 

He stood up quickly sliding his pajama pants down easily. Veronica watched as he sprung free. He was bigger than she had even imagined and watching him stand there in front of her all tall, tan, and hard body, so completely turned on just for her left her panting, filling with a need to have him buried deep inside her. 

He came back down between her legs and planted a hot kiss on her mouth as he reached into the drawer of the night stand. Veronica took it from him, making quick work of opening it and rolling it onto his hard length as he trailed hot wet kisses down her neck. Suddenly she felt almost crazed with need and as soon as it was on and secure she centered him to her and wrapped her legs around him to pull him close. 

Sweet Pea resisted, clearly not ready to give up the control just yet and Veronica writhed uncomfortably beneath him. He stared down at her and the look on his face was something she couldn’t place. For a moment Veronica worried that he was going to change his mind suddenly. 

“Tell me you want me.” His voice was shaky and needy. “Tell me,” he paused searching her eyes and she did the same in his, “tell me it’s over between you and him.” 

Veronica felt her heart clench. Up until this very moment all thoughts of Archie had been pushed from her mind. Staring up into Sweet Pea’s dark brown eyes there was no question of whether or not things were over between Archie and her. They had been over for a while and giving him another chance had been nothing but a mistake. 

She framed his face her hands. “It’s over,” she said, nodding her head as fast as she could to reassure him, “it’s you I want Sweet Pea. Only you.” She reached up to place a hot kiss on his mouth. “Fuck, I need you.” She felt the tears stinging her eyes. 

He sunk into her then and they both cried out. She had never felt so full. They continued to kiss as he pumped in and out of her over and over again. It was all tongue and teeth knocking together. 

“Promise me Veronica,” he pleaded in between kisses and thrusts, “please.” 

“I promise baby,” she cried out, feeling her body begin to build to her climax. 

He continued his pounding rhythm, thrusting in and out harder and harder each time. The sound of their arousal and breathy moans mixing together to form some type of heated melody. Sweet Pea reached a hand between them, moving his fingers in fast circles over her clit, bringing her closer and closer to the edge until she felt herself explode and spill over, calling out his name in pleasure. He wasn’t far behind, his own climax racing behind hers with a few rushed thrusts. 

They lay there panting, soothing each other down from their highs. Veronica felt a fluttering in her chest as she ran her fingers over the Serpent tattoo on his neck and peppered soft kisses on his cheek. If she could, she’d hold him there forever, keeping him buried inside her, the feel of his heavy weight grounding her. He made an attempt to move but she wrapped her legs around him; she wasn’t ready to let go and feel the emptiness yet. 

“No. Please stay for a moment. I just need to feel you right here, like this, for a few moments.” She felt a lump form in her throat as the words tumbled from her mouth. Sweet Pea choked out a sharp breath and wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in his warmth. 

She’s not sure how long they stayed like that, could have been just minutes, could have been hours, but when she did finally let him move, she immediately missed him. 

After they both made trips to the bathroom to take care the usual postcoital things, they settled back into bed under the blanket, cuddled up as close as possible. 

“I’m going to end it with him today for good, as soon as I go home,” she said after a moment. 

“Okay,” Sweet Pea replied, “Can I asked you something though?” 

“Of course,” she replied quickly, looking up at him. 

“Why did you get back together with him? Do you still love him?” 

Veronica shook her head almost instantly. “No, I don’t. I got back with him after,” she paused adjusting her position so she was directly facing him, “after that day at the Wyrm. Seeing you with that girl and then you pushing me away, it was just too much. I guess I just didn’t want to be alone and he was there.” 

Sweet Pea closed his eyes and sighed, the hurt evident in the way he clenched his jaw. She reached out a hand, running her fingers over his cheek, relishing in the way he instantly relaxed, as if her touch was all it took. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for being such an idiot.” He pulled her on top of him into a impossibly tight hug. 

“I’ll forgive you on one condition,” Veronica said lifting herself up to a sitting position so she was straddling him again. She wanted desperately to lighten the mood. 

Sweet Pea sat up, propping himself up on his elbows, “Whats that?” 

“Tell me your real name,” she said with a sly smile on her face. When the Southside High kids had all transferred to Riverdale she had helped with the paperwork. Nowhere in Sweet Pea’s file could she find his real name. 

“You’ll never believe me if I tell you,” he said with a smirk. 

She ran her fingers from his chest down to his abs, enjoying the way he almost squirmed beneath her. “Try me.” 

Sweet Pea took a deep breath, a small smile playing on his lips. “John Smith IIII.” 

Veronica stared at him for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles. It was quite possibly the most generic name in the world and the fact that he was a fourth made it he better. Sweet Pea shook his head, snaking am arm around her waist before flipping her over. 

He kissed her senseless and it wasn’t long before he was buried inside her again and Veronica was crying out his name. 

There was still so much left unsaid, she still needed to end things with Archie, and explain everything to Betty, but for now she was so unbelievably content to just stay cooped up in Sweet Pea’s trailer all day making love. 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things I want to say before you dive in! 
> 
> First, up until this point each full chapter has been written from their alternating point of views. Up until this point its what worked best for the story, now however, as we get closer to the end and the story is moving faster, I'm finding that switching between their POV's in the middle serves the story better. I hope that doesn't bother anyone. 
> 
> Second, I feel like I should note it before every fic I write but, I love angst, I love conflict, I love making a situation unnecessarily difficult before I smooth it all out, so I only half way apologize for this chapter. I know angst isn't everyone's cup of tea but I drink it by the gallons. 
> 
> Third, I'm thinking of making this into a series. As I've written this fic I've begun to think about Jughead ad Betty's story, and how it takes places parallel to Sweet Pea and Veronica's and may have evens tarted writing it. Along with that, I've been thinking about what the future would look like for all of these characters, Toni and Cheryl and Fangs and Kevin included. If I do write those fics, Betty and Jughead's side, and then one that wraps everything up in the future, is that something you would be interested in? Let me know! 
> 
> With all that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It was difficult to write! We don't have much more left but what is will be exciting, I promise! Please leave me a comment below and tell me what you think! 
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr at heyytherejuliett!

When Veronica first moved to Riverdale she wasn’t sure if it would ever truly feel like home. Though her transition into Riverdale High and even into the small knit group of friends she now loved and cared for so much had been surprisingly smooth, still she could never seem to find that warm sense of comfort and ease she would always associate with New York. For all the bad memories that came with it; her father’s arrest, her sudden fall from grace, it held even more memories she would check off in the good category. 

Trips to their Hampton house during the spring seasons when the temperature wasn’t too hot to enjoy it but warm enough that she could lounge on the deck of their large house all day in her favorite bikini. Christmas at the Rockefeller Center watching with wide bright eyes as the tall tree was lit up with thousands upon thousands of twinkling lights. Even just the simplicities of her day-to-day life; the car ride home after school when she would roll the window down, letting the familiar scents of the city around her seep into her lungs as the breeze whipped through her hair. Veronica would always consider New York her home, and Riverdale, for all the good it’s brought into her life, had always felt like a stop along the way, a detour from the place she felt she so rightfully belonged.

So it came as a total surprise when that same feeling she had all those times in the back of the limo that picked her up from school everyday started to creep into her bones the first time she rode on the back of Sweet Pea’s bike. It was only a flicker then, just a small smouldering of emotion as she held onto his body tightly while they waived through the winding roads on their way to the movies. 

It was the same feeling she was now overcome with as they made their way from his small trailer on the Southside to the Coopers house on the Northside, only this time it was undeniable. She took deep breaths over and over again wanting to fill her lungs to capacity with the sense of home. It occurred to her then, as Sweet Pea pulled over a block away from Betty’s that it wasn’t Riverdale that was starting to feel like home, it was him. 

It was early in the evening and Veronica had asked Sweet Pea to take her home with one singular goal in mind; to end things with Archie for good. She had never been a cheater, not even she was a mean girl back in New York and even though she didn’t regret one second she’d spent with Sweet Pea since last night, she still knew it was wrong. She needed to close one book before starting another. 

Sweet Pea switched the bike off in front of an older looking tudor style house a block from Betty’s. She wasn’t so much worried about Alice seeing her as she was about Archie. 

“Sorry for having you drop me off so far, I just don’t want to have to deal with Archie losing it over this while I’m trying to…” She trailed off as she unbuckled her helmet from under her chin. 

“I get it, I do.” Sweet Pea said, still straddling the now quiet motorcycle. Veronica took a moment to appreciate the sight. “Stop staring at me like you’ve seen me naked.” Sweet Pea said turning his body slightly toward her. 

“But I have.” She replied, grabbing the lapels of his leather jacket and pulling herself toward him immediately locking their lips together. It was a slow languid kiss, their mouths now more than familiar with each other, and Veronica couldn’t help the way her body seemed to melt into his. 

“We have to stop before I take you right here on my bike in front off all of Betty’s neighbors.” Sweet Pea growled in her ear. 

“Is that a promise?” Veronica questioned with a smirk. 

Sweet Pea let out a small laugh and shook his head. “You’re dangerous Lodge. Go. End it with carrot top and then call me and I’ll come get you.” 

“What will you do while I’m here?” She asked, feeling an overwhelming sense of disappointment at having to leave his side for even a moment. 

“I’m gonna head over to the Whyrm.” He said simply. 

After a small moment Veronica placed a soft kiss on his mouth before stepping back. She watched as the bike roared to life under him. With one last glance and wink in her direction, he pulled away, the sound of the loud engine echoing behind him. 

A few moments later Veronica stood on the front porch of the Andrews house. The place where she first told Archie she loved him. She wasn’t sure how he would take this final break up, though she hoped he would understand. She hadn’t had much time to think about what she would say but she hoped it would simply come to her. 

She took in a final deep breath and righted her shoulders before ringing the bell. When the door opened she was greeted by Fred. 

“Veronica, hey. How are you?” He asked politely, though there was a tension in his eyes she couldn’t help but notice. 

“I’m good Mr. Andrews. Is Archie home?” She asked sweetly. 

Fred seemed to think about his response for a moment before answering. “Yea. He just upstairs in his room, go on up.” He said finally. 

“Thank you.” She offered with a small smile as she made her way past him and up the stairs. 

Archies door was cracked slightly and she could hear him talking quietly on the phone, though she couldn’t make out what he was saying. 

“Archie?” She called out with a soft knock on the door that opened it a bit wider. 

“I gotta go.” She heard him say into the phone. “Ronnie hey! How are you feeling?” He asked quickly. He looked tired and a bit disheveled. In fact he appeared to be wearing the same shirt he was wearing the day before at school and his hair was sticking up in all different directions, presumably from him running his hands through it and pulling on it. 

It had taken Veronica a long minute to realize he was asking her how she was feeling because Betty had lied for her and said she was sick the night before. “Oh, I’m feeling much better, thank you.” She lied again. 

“Good good.” He responded somewhat awkwardly. 

They stood there in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. It was obvious he was distracted. “Archie can we talk?” She asked quickly before she lost her nerve. 

“Yea what’s-” His response was interrupted by Fred calling him from downstairs. Even through the door she could hear the annoyance in his voice. It was becoming clear to her that she may have interrupted an argument between them. “Just… Just give me a minute. Wait here.” He said quickly, not giving her a chance to respond as he left, making sure to close the door behind him. 

Veronica stood in the middle of Archies room. All around her the walls were adorned with posters of his favorite musicians and shelves that held trophies from a handful of different sports. His bed was unmade, as usual, and the pile of dirty clothes that seemed to permanently live in the corner was slowly taking over the entire floor. For a small moment Veronica started to feel guilty. 

Archie had been her shining light of good in times when her life felt so muddy and weighed down by all the bad. Even through him essentially choosing her father over her, Veronica knew his intentions were nobel. He truly believed in her father’s plan, in his ability to make “make riverdale great again” for lack of a better explanation. 

Veronica sighed, taking a seat on Archies bed.  _ Maybe this will be harder than I planned  _ she thought. Just then his phone bagn buzzing on the end table where he had placed it. At first she ignored it, but when it kept going off every few seconds, her curiosity got the best of her. 

Picking it up, it showed that he had multiple text messages from her father. She felt her stomach sink. She punched in the code praying it would still be her birthday and began counting her lucky stars when it was. 

Even as she held the phone in her hand, more messages started rolling in. She scrolled to the top, reading the conversation from start to finish. 

**Hirem:** Do you remember our deal Archie?

**Archie:** I haven’t forgotten sir. 

**Hirem:** Good. I need you to win back my daughters affections. 

**Archie:** No disrespect sir, but as long as I’m still working for you, I don’t think that will ever happen. 

**Hirem:** I’m well aware. Which is why you will tell her that you no longer wish to work for me, and need her help. 

**Archie:** You want me to lie to her? 

**Hirem:** I want you to do whatever it takes to win her back. As long as you and her are together, I can keep an eye on her. 

**Archie:** Are you sure this will work?

**Hirem:** You will make it work. 

**Archie:** Yes sir. 

Veronica felt her palms begin to sweat and her temper rise. It was lie. Everything Archie said about wanting to get out from under her father had all been a lie to get her back just so her father could still keep tabs on her. 

She blinked away the tears forming in her eyes so she could read the messages from today. 

**Hirem:** I wasn’t done talking to you Andrews. 

**Hirem:** The drop is tonight and you will be there. 

**Hirem:** I don’t care what lie you have to tell your father or Veronica, you will be there, by my side. 

**Hirem:** Or else. 

**Hirem:** Remember Archie, loyalty means everything to me. 

Just then Archie came back into the room. “Sorry bout that.” He said stopping in his tracks at the sight of Veronica. 

“Tell me this isn’t true.” She said through gritted teeth holding up his phone. 

“You read my text messages?” He had the gall to actually sound offended as he tried reaching for the phone. 

Veronica stepped back quickly holding it up out of his immediate reach. “Archie tell me this isn’t fucking true!” She said again, this time with more anger laced into every word. 

Archie took a deep steadying breath, running a hand through his hair. “Veronica…” He trailed off, as if he was unsure how to continue. 

“Oh my god.” Veronica said with a small laugh gripping his phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. “You lied to me. All that talk about wanting to get away from my father, about needing my help, it was all just a lie. We were just a lie.” She said, staring at the ground. She could feel herself losing what little grip she had left. 

“No Veronica it’s not like that. What you read… I know what it looks like… You have to believe me…” Archie said stumbling over every attempt he made to explain himself. “It wasn’t you I was lying to. I was lying to your dad.” He finally said. 

Veronica stared at him for a long moment, searching his eyes for the truth. She used to know the boy standing in front of her. From the small freckle where the waistband of his boxers sit to the scar between his eyebrows he got when he was eight and fell off his skateboard, she used to know him. She used to know that when he was snappy and short with her it meant he was hungry and when it was late at night and he got giggly and delusional it meant he needed to go to sleep. She used to know all about his fears and about the nightmares he would have about Mrs. Grundy and how every one of them would end with her in the form of a snake, coiling herself around his body until he couldn’t breath. She used to know him, inside and out. 

Now, as she looked into those same brown eyes, the ones she found comfort in so many times before, she could see nothing. No truth, no passion, no love. 

“I slept with Sweet Pea.” The words tumbled from her mouth like large boulders down the side of a steep hill, uncontrollable and unstoppable. It was as if she took the knife straight from her back and jammed it into his chest, not bothering to clean it off first. 

His face twisted with a mix of rage and hurt. It was clear her words had done exactly what she wanted them to do, hurt him like he had hurt her. 

“When?” He said through a clenched jaw, the anger so palpable she feel it like hot wind blowing on her skin. 

“This morning. I stayed over his house last night. In fact I came here today to end things with you so that I could be with him.” Her demeanor was ice cold, a stark contrast to the fire that radiated off of his body. 

Archie flared his nostrils and clenched his fists. “I don’t believe you.” He said stepping closer to her. 

Veronica stood her ground, staring up at him with ice in her eyes. “I don’t care what you believe. I don’t care what you do. I don’t care if ever see you again. I came here to end things, to tell you it was over, and now that I have I’m leaving.” She said before dropping his phone on the ground and maneuvering around him to exit the room. 

She paused at the door, turning back to him one last time. “Good luck with my father. I’m sure he’s going to be so happy when he finds out you failed your mission.” 

She could see Archie almost visibly flinch and odd sense of satisfaction came over her as she made her way down his stairs and out the front door. She had held on for so long, stayed strong through everything, but the moment she stepped off the Andrews front porch she could feel herself unraveling, leaving a trail of thread behind her as she made her way through the front door of the Cooper house and up the stairs. 

As she stood in the doorway of Betty’s room she held her arms around tightly around herself, as though if she let go she would completely fall apart. 

“Veronica! What happened? Are you okay?” Betty said as she rushed over to her. 

Betty’s arms wrapping around her was her undoing. Her knees gave out from beneath her as a loud wail escaped her lips. She could no longer hold it together. The pieces of her fragile life fell apart, scattering across the floor of Betty’s pastel pink bedroom like her pearl necklace had the day she ripped it from her neck in the girls locker room.

Veronica lay there in Betty’s arms, uncontrollable sobs spilling from her chest, as every detail of her life that led her to this moment played on a loop in her head. The police bursting through the door in her upper Manhattan condo on a Thursday night during dinner time. The strange men with badges tearing through her pristine bedroom as her mother held her shoulders tightly reminding her to stay strong, that Lodges do not show weakness. The letter her father sent her from prison, the one that threatened her mom if she didn’t lie for him, and the pearl necklace that followed soon after. Ethel Muggs, Fred Andrews, F.P. Jones, and every other person who’s lives her father had tainted, each face flashing through her mind. 

It would be nearly an hour before Veronica regained her composure enough to tell Betty everything that happened. Her friend held her the entire time, letting her take as long as necessary, combing her fingers through Veronica’s silky raven hair. For only the second time since she moved to Riverdale, Veronica once again felt the sense of ease and comfort she associated with home. Like Sweet Pea, Betty was her home. 

______________ 

 

Sweet Pea sat at the far end of the bar at the Whyte Wyrm drinking a cold beer. To his left Fangs was animatedly telling Jughead the story about the time he, Sweet Pea, and Toni got locked in Southside High overnight. Sweet Pea remembers the night fondly, laughing along with everyone as Fangs speaks. 

Behind the bar Toni’s attention is focused on him as she dries a glass. “You look happy Pea.” She says, and his attention is pulled from Fangs. 

“What?” He asks, unsure if he’d heard her correctly. 

“You look happy.” She repeats, setting the glass on the shelf behind her, before picking up another to dry. 

He studies her for a moment. She’s wearing a red crop top he’s never seen before with a short black leather skirt. Since she’d started dating Cheryl he’s noticed things about her changing. Her wardrobe, usually consisting of pinks and blacks, had started to includes bits of red and deep blues. Items of clothing he didn’t recognize replacing her tattered and worn in ones. 

Her face had seemed different to. Her eyes no longer seemed to hold the same tension they used to, the bags beneath no longer deep and purple from long nights of sleeping on a friends couch or in a dark forgotten closet at Southside High. She seems lighter, her lips turning upward more often than not. 

She’s happy he thinks. In all of his frustration with his friends dating Northsiders and his singular focus not to, he hadn’t ever stopped to take notice and how different things were. Even Fangs, who was naturally an optimist and skilled in maintaining a carefree exterior seemed more genuinely so. His friends were happy and in truth, he was too. 

“I am.” He said simply. 

“I take it you and Veronica talked.” She replied, leaning on the bar to give him her full attention.

“Yea, we talked…” He paused, giving her a smirk. “And other stuff.” 

Toni rolled her eyes and laughed. 

“Wait, you and Veronica are an actual thing now?” Jughead asked, turning on his stool to face him. “I thought she was back with Archie?” 

Sweet Pea felt a faint pang of guilt in his gut. He may not be Andrews biggest fan, in fact he downright hated the guy, but still, he knew it was wrong of him and Veronica to sleep together while she was still technically with Archie. 

“She is, or was. She’s there now ending things with him, that’s all that matters.” He said quickly, suddenly not wanting to talk about it anymore. 

“Ah, gotcha.” Jughead replied simply. 

“Hello, I was talking!” Fangs said, feigning frustration with his friend. 

They all rolled their eyes in unison, but allowed him to continue. While Fangs picked up where he left off, Sweet Pea found his mind wandering back to Veronica and all the ways his life would be different now. He thought about walking the halls at Riverdale High with her under his arm, the jealous glares they would get from both guys and girls alike. The rides they would take on his bike, her arms wrapped firmly around him. He could take her up the river to his favorite hidden spot, or maybe they could ride out to the city and she could show him around New York. 

He almost felt silly for how much he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He had had girlfriends before, or at least short flings with girls from the Southside he found interesting enough. Usually they wanted more from him then he could give and he always ended up breaking their hearts. It wasn’t like he set out to be an asshole, though thinking about it he never really tried hard not to be, it was just most girls seemed to have some sort of expectation of how their relationship would go and no matter how much he would tell them otherwise, it would always end badly. 

His last real relationship was about a year ago, in the middle of his junior year, with a girl named Jesse. Fangs had introduced them and after two dates they just sort of fell into a relationship. She was smart and sweet and beautiful and everything any guy would love. They dated for about six months before she started to ask him questions about how he feels about her and then it was over. He couldn’t say  _ I love you _ or even tell her he liked her a lot because truthfully, he didn’t feel anything. 

Not until Veronica blew into his life had he ever really felt anything other than sexual attraction for a girl. She made his heart beat faster and his stomach do this weird thing where he didn’t know if he was going to throw up or pass out. She also frustrated him, her stubbornness driving him to near outrage while one small smirk from her could also melt his entire icey exterior. They say opposites attract but in truth he didn’t know how opposite they were. 

Veronica Lodge had certainly scratched and clawed her way into his heart and all he could do was hope she handled it with care. 

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Fangs voice, dripping with venom, yanked Sweet Pea from his thoughts. He looked up to see Fangs, Jughead, and Toni all looking toward the entrance of the bar with hard glares. 

Suddenly a sinking feeling took over his body as he turned to see none other than Archie Andrews sauntering up to them. 

“What are you doing here Archie?” Jughead asked. His tone always sounded a little pained when he talked to Archie, as if it was physically uncomfortable to be near his childhood friend. 

“Oh, ya know, I was just in the neighborhood, figured I’d pay my good friend Sweet Pea here a visit. Ya know, check in on him, make sure he’s okay.” He replied with a cocky shit eating grin on his face stopping a few feet in front of them. 

That sinking feeling from a moment before started seeping into his bones. Something was right. 

“What are you talking about Andrews?” He questioned leaning back in his stool to appear as casual as possible. Pigs would fly before he ever let Archie Andrews see him squirm.

“Oh I see, it’s denial we’re going with. That’s okay, I get it. I mean, I’ve been there.” Archie said making no sense at all. 

“Stop talking in circles asshole, get to the point.” Toni said slamming her fist down on the bar. 

Archie laughed coldy, his boy next door features twisting into something darker, more sinister. 

“Did you really think she would choose you?” 

The words slipped from Archies lips smoothly like the flick of a switchblade, sharp and lethal, stabbing Sweet Pea, not in the gut or the heart, but in the lung. Cutting off the supply of oxygen to his brain and his ability to form words. 

Archie laughed again, taking Sweet Pea’s silence as a chance to continue. “You did, didn’t you? You really thought Veronica Lodge would willingly slum it with a fucking Southside Serpent. I mean come on, isn’t the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard?” 

“You’re lying. You’re just pissed she dumped you and-” Toni started to say coming out from behind the bar, Sweet Pea held up a hand and she stopped. 

“If I were lying how would I know they had sex this morning?” Archie asked holding his hands up in defense. “We had a good laugh about that actually. I guess Veronica’s charity work is for what, at least a year right?” 

Sweet Pea’s mind flashed back to earlier that day, him and Veronica on his bed, his pleas for her to reassure him as he thrust deep inside her. He stared at Archie, searching his face for any hint of of a bluff. Had Veronica told Archie about it? Had she laughed at him and the way he had been so needy? Had this all just been a game to her? 

He could feel the rage begin to uncoil in his belly. His mind and heart were at war. He wanted to believe in his heart that she wouldn’t do that, that Archie was lying, only saying these things to piss him off, but his mind almost seemed to mock him. A familiar voice repeating  _ I told you so, never get caught up with a Northsider _ . 

Sweet Pea closed his and eyes clenched his jaw. His next movements were calculated and well thought out, months and month of pent up aggression and bitterness had led to this very moment. 

Without warning he leapt forward off the barstool, his hands coming into immediate contact with Archie’s throat and as walked him backwards a few feet into a wall. Archie body made harsh contact with the wall, his head slamming back against it with a loud thud as Sweet Pea’s hands tightened around his neck. 

“There he is! There’s the Sweet Pea I know and love!” Archie choked out, his mouth forming a nasty smirk as his face began to turn red. 

“Pea STOP!” Toni yelled, pulling on his arm, her efforts useless. 

“Come on Pea, you’re gonna kill him!” Jughead pleaded trying to squeeze himself between the two without much success.  

“Good” He said simply, tightening his hold as he jerked Archie toward him and back into the wall again. For a split second he saw a flash of what looked like fear in Archies eyes and he smiled, feeling crazed. “Not so tough now are you Northside?” 

“Come on John, enough.” Fangs growled, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. Unlike Jughead or Toni he didn’t waist his energy trying to pry Sweet Pea off of him. “She isn’t worth it.” 

_ She isn’t worth it. _ The words tumbled around in his head over and over again as he stared into Archies eyes.  _ She isn’t worth it _ . Worth what? A prison sentence for murder, no probably not. 

Sweet Pea swiftly removed his hands from around Archies neck, letting him sink to the floor as he gasped for air. Slowly and purposely he sunk down, grabbing the boy by the shirt to force him to look up at him. “If you ever come back here again, ever step foot on the Southside again, I promise you, I will kill you.” He let the words drip from his lips slowly, ensuring Archie heard every single word clearly. 

Archie didn’t reply, simply stared up at Sweet Pea with visible fear.

As Sweet Pea stomped out into the cool night he could feel his last grip on his self-control start to unravel. Nothing Archie said made sense or lined up with what he had experienced with Veronica earlier that day but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all true. That she had played him for a fool, maybe to get back at him for initially turned her down, or maybe simply because she enjoyed it. Either way, it didn’t matter, it was done and over. 

He drove through the Southside streets faster then he should have, the wind smacking against his face with fury, the engine roaring between his legs. He couldn’t stop, couldn’t let his mind or heart go there or he’d completely fall apart. 

He wanted to regret her. Wanted to regret every moment spent inside her but as he made his way into his trailer, their dishes from breakfast still sitting on the coffee table, the sheets on his bed still rumpled, all he felt was pain and longing. A sore achy pain that started in his chest and spread all throughout his body. It set her nerves on fire and without thinking he slammed his fist into the wall. 

It felt good, really good, so he did it again, and again, and again, and didn’t stop until his knuckles were bloody and swollen and his body was numb from the inside out. 

 


End file.
